Higher Education
Law and Policy
E D U 6 2 1 9
F A L L 2 0 2 2
DESCRIPTION
Offers an overview of the major aspects of the legal and political environments that impact institutions of higher education, ranging from access, affordability, readiness, and completion to gainful employment. Offers students an opportunity to learn multiple approaches for addressing these requirements and understanding and influencing policy development at all levels, both internal and external.
REFLECTION
Law and policy is something that I think about frequently, and often with a bit of disdain. I find that the general practice of policy-making in the United States to be fraught with corruption and outside influence. As a spectator in politics, I do not often enjoy conversations with others regarding law and policy - mostly because those conversations never tilt towards the positive.
I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this class as much as I did. I attribute this in part to the vibrant and intelligent discussions we were having in our virtual class space, and also in part to a general assumption that proved more or less true: folks in academic spaces, as professionals anyway, generally hold the same opinions on matters of law and policy as I do (with a few exceptions). In fact, I often found myself seeking for ways to bring up conversations or points for discussion that differed from our collective understand of the matters discussed in our course.
Something that I deeply enjoyed was engaging in learning on topics that were changing right in front of us. On more than one occasion, cases relevant to the week’s topic were ongoing, or had recent updates. What better class to take while affirmative action is on the Supreme Court docket? It was really enlightening to be able to apply the readings and concepts I was using in class to better understand what and how the highest court in the nation was about to address.
It should also come as no surprise that this course was hard. In fact, I think this was the most difficult course I have taken in this program so far. This could be because it is so outside of my comfort zone in topic, the numerous readings and discussions we had, or even how dense some legal documents and case summaries are. Even still, I would also say this was my favorite class in this program, which is due in no small part to how rigorous and intellectually stimulating it was.
Overall, I look forward to being able to apply my understanding of case law to better understand how institutions make decisions, and inform my own decisions within my professional and academic work.