Policy Perspectives
1995

"A Calling to Account" July 1995 Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 108k,  Download The changing environment for higher education has encouraged a growing number of administrators, trustees, and even some faculty to ask a new, "Who ought to be responsible for what? How can both the financial viability and academic independence of the institution best be preserved?" The essay argues for a closer, more effective working relationship among the three parties directly responsible for the governance and management of the institution: faculty, president, and trustees. This essay, which is about that complex partnership, grows out of a special roundtable convened jointly by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) and the Pew Higher Education Roundtable in December 1994.

"Twice Imagined" April 1995 Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 100k,  Download After surveying five broad societal changes and their effects on colleges and universities, the essay posits two versions of higher education's future—one in which institutions come to compete along a narrow set of reputational measures, and another, more promising future in which institutions come to pursue more distinctive educational missions while at the same time exhibiting a greater willingness to share resources and engage in partnerships with one another. Attaining the more hopeful future will require that institutions reinforce the sense of common purpose among themselves; that they move learning to the center of the teaching enterprise; and that they recast graduate education to ensure that new Ph.D.s have the opportunity to teach the kind of students they are likely to encounter in their faculty careers.

"Twice Imagined# Cases" April 1995 Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 62k,  Download After surveying five broad societal changes and their effects on colleges and universities, the essay posits two versions of higher education's future—one in which institutions come to compete along a narrow set of reputational measures, and another, more promising future in which institutions come to pursue more distinctive educational missions while at the same time exhibiting a greater willingness to share resources and engage in partnerships with one another. Attaining the more hopeful future will require that institutions reinforce the sense of common purpose among themselves; that they move learning to the center of the teaching enterprise; and that they recast graduate education to ensure that new Ph.D.s have the opportunity to teach the kind of students they are likely to encounter in their faculty careers.

"Cross Currents" January 1995 Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 57k,  Download It is the liberal arts college—residential, devoted to instruction in a broad curriculum of the arts and sciences, designed as a place of growth and experimentation for the young—that remains the mind's shorthand for an undergraduate education at its best. This issue explores the challenges facing these institutions, including new pressures on the ideals of campus community and the budgetary strain that results from increasing expenditures on student financial aid. Liberal arts colleges are urged to sustain their commitment to "teaching as conversation," to take the lead in rethinking the undergraduate curriculum, and to build truly collaborative networks among themselves.

"Cross Currents# Voices" January 1995 Format = Adobe Acrobat,  Size = 56k,  Download It is the liberal arts college—residential, devoted to instruction in a broad curriculum of the arts and sciences, designed as a place of growth and experimentation for the young—that remains the mind's shorthand for an undergraduate education at its best. This issue explores the challenges facing these institutions, including new pressures on the ideals of campus community and the budgetary strain that results from increasing expenditures on student financial aid. Liberal arts colleges are urged to sustain their commitment to "teaching as conversation," to take the lead in rethinking the undergraduate curriculum, and to build truly collaborative networks among themselves.