Of course, the problem of declining academic standards goes far beyond grade practices, and therein lies the challenge confronting colleges and universities. Campuses can approach the issue by sponsoring a community dialogue about academic standards and expectations, led by the faculty. Many professors are reluctant to broach the subject since it touches on the cultures and expectations of different academic disciplines and, ultimately, the respect with which faculty members hold their colleagues in other departments. However, acknowledging that academic standards are an institutional concern is an important first step in addressing the problem. What such a dialogue can accomplish is to move the conversation to a higher plane than the finger-pointing that typically takes place in hallway and lunch table conversations.
Presidents hope to brag to alumni about the institution's climbing graduation rate.
Making the curriculum easier is very popular, and nearly all the forces act in that direction. It takes a broad, concerted effort by the entire university community to resist these forces. A school's administration has a key role in this struggle. While it is the responsibility of the faculty to maintain standards and rigor in the curriculum, it is the responsibility of department chairs, deans, and provosts to protect their right to do so. Academic freedom is more than the protected right of professors to study controversial or unpopular subjects.