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American public education is in crisis, again. This time it is the pernicious influence of poorly trained administrators and publicly elected activists that serve as trustees on college and university governing boards. Their influence results in counterproductive educational policies, or “reforms,” that mirror our nation’s culture wars rather than our historical educational goals. All reforms are not created equal and great damage is being done to the academy, our students, and ultimately to our society. We pander to students, apologize for academic rigor, systematically degrade the quality of our courses and programs, and allow unqualified individuals to override the consensus viewpoint of disciplinary scholars. Highschoolification is a warning to America and a reminder of the principles established by Thomas Jefferson for higher education in our republic. Higher education is an investment in our country, by our country, and for our country. Unfortunately, most Americans are ignorant of this fact. Indeed, a professional class of poorly trained educational administrators, supported by activist college boards, is taking higher education in the wrong direction. Instead of strengthening academic curricula in the face of today’s information wars and critical thinking crisis, higher education is guilty of courting mediocrity and of playing to the lowest common denominator in education: graduation rates. College boards do this because they see students as customers and colleges and universities as profit-generating businesses. Administrations do this because they believe they’re helping students by rewarding underachievement. These assumptions are both wrong and dangerous. The result of these forces on higher education is a diminution of standards that is havning a ripple effect through the American culture, economy, and political landscape. If we wish for our system of public education to remain the envy of the world, which it currently is, then we need to change its gov