Iowa State University is adding a new course, EDUC 4950X, which examines the policies, people and systems that run universities.
The instructor for this new course is Assistant Professor Lindsay Jarratt from the School of Education. The course is a three-credit, whole-semester course that will meet Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and is open to students of all majors.
“The goal is to pull back the curtain a little bit and maybe help students better understand,” Jarrett said. “And question a place they spend years being a part of, but rarely get to examine very closely.”
Jarrett went on to say that students know a lot about their particular major, though many students don’t think about how running a university works.
The Director of the School of Education, Ann M. Gansemer-Topf, stated that she would hear from many undergraduate students that they wish they had known more about how colleges and universities function.
“We recognize that students spend four or more years at university, yet few have the opportunity to learn how institutions work,” Gansemer-Topf said. “This course will provide that opportunity.”
Students will spend part of the semester looking into the major questions on the minds of those in higher education.
“Colleges and universities are navigating pretty big questions,” Jarrett said. “Affordability, public trust, AI, student well-being, free expression and what role higher education should play in society.”
The questions being presented in this course do not have simple answers. This course is aimed at helping students to understand the intricacies and detailed nature of trying to answer them.
“I wish I had known more about how colleges and universities work when I was an undergraduate,” Gansemer-Topf said. “Understanding higher education institutions can provide students with another dimension of leadership that will make them more informed and thoughtful students, leaders and future professionals.”
Jarratt said the course will help students learn more about Iowa State and explore career opportunities they may not have previously considered. Besides introducing students to university operations, the course will examine broader policies and challenges that shape higher education.
“Rather than focusing specifically on ISU, the course examines colleges and universities more broadly,” Gansemer-Topf said. “Students learn about the complex challenges and opportunities facing colleges and universities today, including cost, public perceptions of higher education, artificial intelligence, workforce preparation, student success and the evolving value of a college degree.”