Essays by four community college chief executive officers (i.e., Michael E. Crawford, Donald L. Newport, Mary M. Norman, and Donald G. Phelps) suggest ways in which community colleges can implement programs and practices that will improve the position of the associate degree and the community college in American higher education. (DMM)

Considers the applicability of the Socratic model of education for curriculum revision today. Argues that traditional learning in the liberal arts provides the foundation on which critical abilities, and then creative solutions to problems, can be developed. (DMM)

Educators must reinforce the distinction between the first 2 years of college education, to be reserved for general education, and the second two, in which specialization is appropriate. This might mean only loosening some requirements. In addition, more broad-based introductory courses should be provided for students to choose from. (MSE)

Religion and science have become polarized in modern society, a conflict characteristic of the humanities generally. Comparative religion has a place among the other humanities disciplines, since religion and science have a relationship whose roots go to the basis of our cultural tradition. (MSE)

The authors suggest that evaluation is best taught not as a separate topic but an integral part of the business and management curriculum. They caution instructors to teach both the positive and the negative benefits of evaluation in business settings. (BS)

Throughout its history, American education has focused narrowly on practical and vocational issues and has ignored the need for intellectual development. The lesson is not yet fully learned, and an emphasis on critical thinking as a goal of education is only beginning to gather strength. (MSE)

Higher education focuses largely on acquisition of knowledge and development of skills of rigorous argument, rarely giving attention to subjective perceptions or subjective value assumptions, in either the parties of a controversy or the student himself. Elements of the college curriculum, when properly developed, can help students identify…

The designation of "liberal" as the educational path toward a person's cultural completeness has given way to use of that term in contexts implying freedom for personal exploration of all kinds. The primary functions of the liberal education institution have become sidetracked by consumerism. (MLW)

It is concluded from an examination of the Platonic roots of educational philosophy that learning to reason well is not enough in education, but that the most valuable activity to engage in for self-discovery is challenging, through discourse, each other's opinions. (MSE)

The difficulties and advantages of integrating feminist literary criticism into the college English curriculum are examined. It is argued that attention to the place of womem in literature would help to illuminate the human experience, a primary objective of literary criticism. (MSE)

Identifies and describes five obstacles to effective general education: intangible, intrinsic conflicts; impediments pertaining to organization and delivery; staff-related obstacles; student-related problems; and external and societal restraints. Offers ways to cope with obstacles, e.g., review of goals and methods; staff development; alternate…

The open university is taken to task for promulgating a passive curriculum and for obscuring the dynamic structuring of knowledge by teachers and learners that ought to be at the heart of university scholarship. The "package tour" approach to knowledge that characterizes introductory courses is blamed, in part. (MSE)

Encourages professors not to lose sight of undergraduate courses in that they may inspire students to further learning in the humanities. Undertakes a discussion of "Beowulf" and Camus'"The Plague" to show how literature from other periods and cultures can be used to provoke thought about contemporary, relevant issues. (CAM)

Identifies the major functions of short cycle education and two aspects of governance and administration related to these purposes: specifically, local or regional autonomy v national control, and comprehensive, multi-purpose v specialized programs. Considers short cycle education in 12 countries. (AYC)

Argues that patterns of student flow between two- and four-year institutions are not linear and that the permutations of student situations affect the datasets that are used to both defend and question the effectiveness and transferability of two-year programs. (DDR)