Iowa Provost Loh talks graduate education

University of Iowa Provost Wallace Loh talks about the future of graduate education programs in the humanities, part of a special report in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

In response to five questions from the Chronicle, Loh says even some strong programs in humanities and other fields may need to limit graduate program enrollment given the budget picture and job outlook. Loh asks if all graduate programs should be required to disclose full information about program outcomes to all participants, figures such as attrition rates, student funding, time to degree, rates and types of job placement and student debt load.

Loh last year charged six UI task forces with looking at various areas for strategic planning, with graduate education one of the areas studied. The task force recommendations released earlier this year caused some stir on campus, with discussion of possible changes or cuts to some graduate programs. Loh said today he hopes decisions regarding the task force recommendations can be rolled out publicly as they are made in a few weeks.

Provost Loh's comments to the Chronicle of Higher Education are part of the publication's special report "Broken: Graduate Education in the Humanities."

Loh's full comments, which were edited for the Chronicle, can be read

here.