In the post-Apartheid era South Africa's universities have faced serious questions about the quality of their student learning in the face of near impossible challenges. The University of Cape Town, widely seen as the country's leading higher education institution, has shown remarkable resilience, however, in the range of initiatives it has…

In "The Learning-Centered University," renowned historian Steven Mintz unveils a comprehensive blueprint for addressing the critical issues of stagnating incomes and productivity, persistent wealth inequalities, and political polarization plaguing colleges and universities today. With practical strategies and a deep understanding of the…

How can we re-envision the university? Too many examples of what passes for educational innovation today--MOOCs especially--focus on transactions, on questions of delivery. In "Alternative Universities," David J. Staley argues that modern universities suffer from a poverty of imagination about how to reinvent themselves. Anyone seeking…

This study seeks to examine the manner and extent to which the United States' leading higher education institutions are adapting their undergraduate international studies and area studies degree programs to the realities of the post Cold War world. The study used data provided by a 1994 survey of nearly 800 undergraduate international and area…

A university-school collaboration can effect change if teachers are given supportive environments and opportunities for frequent reflection and sharing of ideas on the teaching and learning of reading and writing. (Author/TE)

Distinctive colleges and universities, as opposed to the great majority which fit into a more or less standardized mold, possess a unifying theme or vision which is expressed in all their activities. They often respond to newly emerging societal or community needs unmet by existing colleges and universities; they challenge conventional ideas about…

This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. Distinctive colleges and universities possess a unifying theme or vision that is expressed in all their activities. They also usually respond to newly emerging societal or community needs unmet by existing schools of higher education. Distinctiveness, however, can limit the…

Still hard at work, the Holmes Group is forming networks across the nation, framing a common discourse, and pursuing a new vision of teaching through school-university collaboration and professional development. (Author/TE)

Many colleges and universities are undergoing cultural changes as a result of extensive voice, data, and video networking. Local area networks link large portions of most campuses, and national networks have evolved from specialized services for researchers in computer-related disciplines to general utilities on many campuses. Campuswide systems…

This volume explores the academic issue: what is knowledge and what gives it its authority. The book makes three related points: (1) colleges and universities must think of themselves not as stores of knowledge but as institutions of reacculturation; (2) college and university professors must view themselves not as purveyors of information but as…

This paper examines the pace of economic and social change in the Pacific Rim region, discussing the role that universities should play in mediating such change. It addresses five major issues pertaining to the role of universities: (1) the individual university's role in human resource development; (2) the relationship between universities and…