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The Case for Pro-Public Higher Education

President Andrew Jackson stated that colleges are “of the people” and “by the people”.  Public higher education exists to educate the community.  The private school seeks to disengage its elected officials, and rather stay committed to exclusionary policies and pro-internal influences.  Dartmouth was created to benefit the people of New Hampshire.  Its obligation is to the people of the state and demands input from those constituents. In privatizing Dartmouth it would become inaccessible to the masses and community learning.

Between the Revolution and the early-mid 1800's hundreds of colleges started and failed (Trow, 2003).  Competition was strong and there was no system for quality control at these institutions or security for private colleges.  By remaining public and state-regulated, Dartmouth would be protected from failure and able to deflect competition.

The State of New Hampshire wished to “improve Dartmouth as a place of learning by modernizing its administration and curriculum, creating the framework for a university, and encouraging a freer, nonsectarian atmosphere (Trow, 2003, p. 10)”.  Diverse student enrollment/demographics, engages all, regardless of religious or financial status, in meaningful civic learning.

Establishing Dartmouth as a public university would:

Allow for the establishment of impartial standards for the degrees and for the qualifications of faculty, ensuring high quality standards.

“Emphasize educational application to daily life” - the useful, the scientific, the ordinary vocations” (Johnson, 1983) which would also encourage more students to attend college in New Hampshire instead of going abroad to leading European institutions.

Enable the creation of a diversified board. Members would be selected from the community giving the board presence within the society.

It would not be wise for Dartmouth to become private, as it will likely deteriorate the state-college relationship.  Partnership between these entities is essential for the greater good of New Hampshire.  

References:

Johnson, Eldon. Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. (1983). The dartmouth college case: the neglected educational meaning. PA: University of Pennslyvania Press.

Thelin, J. (1990). Jacksonian Democracy and the Colleges. In The American College & University: A History (pp. 201-220). Athen, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. 

Trow, M. (2003). In Praise of Weakness: Chartering, the University of the Unites States, and Dartmouth College (pp. 1-16). Berkeley, CA: University of California.