Michael Skolnik

Biography

Research Overview I’ve been doing research on higher education for over forty years. During that time my research interests have often shifted between different aspects of and issues in higher education. My most enduring interests have been: the design and governance of higher education systems; the role of community colleges and their relationship with universities; and quality assurance in higher education. My interest in these topics of study is provincial, national and international. One place where all three areas of interest intersect is movement of community colleges into awarding baccalaureate degrees, and this has been a focus of some of my research activity in recent years. As a researcher, I have long been sensitive to the tension between disinterested scholarship and social advocacy. My inclination is to engage in both (often in the same project), but to be clear to myself and to readers which is which. The most frequent objects of my advocacy have been: expanding and enhancing the role of community colleges in facilitating the attainment of baccalaureate degrees for career education students; and reforming quality assurance practices in higher education. The principal goal of the former is to improve opportunities for students who have been under-served by universities, e.g., First Nations, lower income groups, single parents, and people with disabilities. The goal of the latter is get away from a production-driven academic culture in which teaching competence is measured by research performance, toward a more responsive model of assessment which gives voice to all stakeholders. Representative Publications Skolnik, M.L. How Do Quality Assurance Systems Accommodate the Differences Between Academic and Applied Higher Education? Higher Education, Vol. 71, No. 3, 2016, 361-378. Skolnik, M.L. Situating Ontario’s Colleges Between the American and European Models for Providing Opportunity for the Attainment of Baccalaureate Degrees in Applied Fields of Study, Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 46, No. 1, 2016, 38-56. Skolnik, M.L. What Does the Decline in the International Ranking of the United States in Educational Attainment Mean for Community Colleges? Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Vol. 40, No. 4, 2016, 310-326. Skolnik, M.L. Community Colleges and Further Education in Canada – An Update. In P. Elsner, G. Boggs, & J. Irwin (Eds.), Global Development of Community Colleges, Technical Colleges, and Further Education Programs, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Community College Press, 2015, 55-69. Skolnik, M.L. Reflections on the Nature and Status of the Applied Baccalaureate Degree, in N. Remington & R. Remington (Eds.), Alternative Pathways to the Baccalaureate. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC, 2013, 128-147. Skolnik, M.L. Re-conceptualizing the Relationship between Community Colleges and Universities, Using a Conceptual Framework Drawn from the Study of Jurisdictional Conflict between Professions, Community College Review, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2011, 352-375. Skolnik, M.L. Quality Assurance in Higher Education as a Political Process,” Higher Education Management and Policy, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2010, 1-20. Skolnik, M.L. A Look Back at the Decision on the Transfer Function at the Founding of Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 40, No. 2, 2010, 1-17. Clark, I.D., Moran, G., Skolnik, M.L., and Trick, D. Academic Transformation: The Forces Reshaping Higher Education in Ontario. Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2009. Skolnik, M.L. Theorizing about the Emergence of the Community College Baccalaureate, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2009, 125-150. Floyd, D.L., Skolnik, M.L, and Walker, K.P. (Eds.). The Community College Baccalaureate: Emerging Trends and Policy Issues. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing Company, 2005. Jones, G.A., McCarney, P., and Skolnik, M.L. (Eds.). Creating Knowledge, Strengthening Nations: The Changing Role of Higher Education. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2005. Skolnik, M.L. Does Counting Publications Provide Any Useful Information About Academic Performance, Teacher Education Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2, 2000, 15-26. Skolnik, M.L. How Academic Program Review Can Foster Intellectual Conformity and Stifle Diversity of Thought and Method in the University, Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 60, No. 6, 1989, 619-643. Research Overview I’ve been doing research on higher education for over forty years. During that time my research interests have often shifted between different aspects of and issues in higher education. My most enduring interests have been: the design and governance of higher education systems; the role of community colleges and their relationship with universities; and quality assurance in higher education. My interest in these topics of study is provincial, national and international. One place where all three areas of interest intersect is movement of community colleges into awarding baccalaureate degrees, and this has been a focus of some of my research activity in recent years. As a researcher, I have long been sensitive to the tension between disinterested scholarship and social advocacy. My inclination is to engage in both (often in the same project), but to be clear to myself and to readers which is which. The most frequent objects of my advocacy have been: expanding and enhancing the role of community colleges in facilitating the attainment of baccalaureate degrees for career education students; and reforming quality assurance practices in higher education. The principal goal of the former is to improve opportunities for students who have been under-served by universities, e.g., First Nations, lower income groups, single parents, and people with disabilities. The goal of the latter is get away from a production-driven academic culture in which teaching competence is measured by research performance, toward a more responsive model of assessment which gives voice to all stakeholders. Representative Publications Skolnik, M.L. How Do Quality Assurance Systems Accommodate the Differences Between Academic and Applied Higher Education? Higher Education, Vol. 71, No. 3, 2016, 361-378. Skolnik, M.L. Situating Ontario’s Colleges Between the American and European Models for Providing Opportunity for the Attainment of Baccalaureate Degrees in Applied Fields of Study, Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 46, No. 1, 2016, 38-56. Skolnik, M.L. What Does the Decline in the International Ranking of the United States in Educational Attainment Mean for Community Colleges? Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Vol. 40, No. 4, 2016, 310-326. Skolnik, M.L. Community Colleges and Further Education in Canada – An Update. In P. Elsner, G. Boggs, & J. Irwin (Eds.), Global Development of Community Colleges, Technical Colleges, and Further Education Programs, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Community College Press, 2015, 55-69. Skolnik, M.L. Reflections on the Nature and Status of the Applied Baccalaureate Degree, in N. Remington & R. Remington (Eds.), Alternative Pathways to the Baccalaureate. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC, 2013, 128-147. Skolnik, M.L. Re-conceptualizing the Relationship between Community Colleges and Universities, Using a Conceptual Framework Drawn from the Study of Jurisdictional Conflict between Professions, Community College Review, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2011, 352-375. Skolnik, M.L. Quality Assurance in Higher Education as a Political Process,” Higher Education Management and Policy, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2010, 1-20. Skolnik, M.L. A Look Back at the Decision on the Transfer Function at the Founding of Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 40, No. 2, 2010, 1-17. Clark, I.D., Moran, G., Skolnik, M.L., and Trick, D. Academic Transformation: The Forces Reshaping Higher Education in Ontario. Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2009. Skolnik, M.L. Theorizing about the Emergence of the Community College Baccalaureate, Community College Journal of Research and Practice, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2009, 125-150. Floyd, D.L., Skolnik, M.L, and Walker, K.P. (Eds.). The Community College Baccalaureate: Emerging Trends and Policy Issues. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing Company, 2005. Jones, G.A., McCarney, P., and Skolnik, M.L. (Eds.). Creating Knowledge, Strengthening Nations: The Changing Role of Higher Education. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2005. Skolnik, M.L. Does Counting Publications Provide Any Useful Information About Academic Performance, Teacher Education Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2, 2000, 15-26. Skolnik, M.L. How Academic Program Review Can Foster Intellectual Conformity and Stifle Diversity of Thought and Method in the University, Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 60, No. 6, 1989, 619-643.

Research Interest

the design and governance of higher education systems; the role of community colleges and their relationship with universities; and quality assurance in higher education