“Higher-Ish” Education

While gathered in a small departmental seminar room, several science faculty at Marsh Hall University engage in discussions centered around running universities like a business. Within a variety of topics that cover major issues of the day surrounding higher education institutions, six professors discuss flat enrollments, pay cuts, a potential subsidizing of an entertainment sports complex, the endangered professoriate, mission statements, and campus perturbations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. As they debate about instituting a “only pay for what you get” fee structure for students who are often identified as the customers of universities, the faculty passionately share their ideas and opinions about the accountability, flexibility, and transparency that surrounds higher education while hoping some good comes from the upheaval. “Higher-ish” Education is a play that showcases the thoughts and debates of six science professors as they dissect the absurdity that overshadows universities in today’s world.