In an op-ed in the New York Times, Columbia's Mark Taylor says that "graduate education is the Detroit of higher learning" and that it needs to be revamped. Taylor suggests restructuring the curriculum, abolishing departments and creating problem-focused groups, increasing collaboration, transforming the dissertation so that alternative formats such as websites, films, and video games are acceptable, exposing students to job possibilities outside academia, and replacing tenure with seven-year contracts.
Bayblab's Bayman says that Taylor is "right on the money" and that he has "good ideas but I don't think any of his proposals would address the most serious problem, which is the supply-demand/slavery issue." At Tomorrow's Table, Pam Ronald says she's "not wild about the idea of abolishing tenure" but does like the idea of encouraging collaborations.