As I take part in discussions with colleagues I am growing increasingly nervous about the SC Commission for Higher Education (CHE)'s intentions. In the town halls that have been held by the CHE around the state, the group seems antagonistic towards higher education faculty, staff, and administration. While the focus on lowering costs for students seems admirable at first, they have implied that their cost cutting may be tied to a demand for only "useful" classes (for some measure of "useful" dictated by CHE itself). That looks to me like a target painted firmly on the back of arts and humanities. Am I wrong about this? What have you heard? How worried should we be about this turn the CHE has made? Will they attempt to dictate what state money can or can't be used on? Could they extend their power into shaping courses and curriculum? How could it affect academic freedoms? I have already heard rumors that the clause that demands "teaching excellence" in their student bill of rights has lead to discussions about including creationism in science classes. Is this the same fight that has always existed between institutions and the government body holding the purse strings, or is it something more? And should the AAUP be looking more closely at news coming from the CHE?
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