When Boards of Trustees @ public universities (who often are composed primarily of people from the for-profit private sector who have never worked in/taught at public uni) speak about the “public good” of public education, they seem to have an odd understanding of the term.

To them, the “public good” of public higher ed seems to be to churn out graduates who have been prepared to serve the specific employment needs of the very private business sector the BoT folx represent.

Our students (for me, students who are often not white, who are very low income, who are first gen....) are not seen as whole human beings who deserve to explore and come into their fullest selves because of education.

They are seen primarily as the potential workforce for those who benefit from tax breaks and whose own children often have wildly divergent college experiences. They are seen as future employees and workers above all else.

The “public good” here is that the poorest, most vulnerable students in the system get to pay (and pay increased fees-passed by the BoT—even in a pandemic) to serve the interests of the least vulnerable.

Education for students at elite universities is seen as a good unto itself. At our regional publics, we are asking students to pay for the “privilege” of being prepared to work for those who benefit from the inequalities in place.

Cutting programs without “workforce needs” is one way to ensure we narrow options for those who attend “public” instituons. Requiring students to go into debt to get those narrow degrees ensures they will have a hard time getting more edu. & compete for top jobs/power

The students I teach must “serve” the business interests of those who set the terms of their educational lives and struggles. The caste system is alive and well.