Small colleges and universities serve a profoundly important role in American society. They provide the rigorous, personalized experience that is the hallmark of the best of higher education. In the process, they build opportunity and encourage civic engagement among a new generation of citizens. The landscape for these institutions has changed…

Higher education has been a favorite news topic for months. President Obama and the first lady have entered the national conversation, particularly around issues of cost and graduation rates for low-income students--addressing education in the State of the Union, at White House events, and in speeches across the nation. In the midst of these…

The conversion of liberal arts institutions into comprehensive institutions primarily engaged in vocational and occupational programs is discussed. The liberal arts college is seen as an endangered species that needs to be preserved at all costs. A history of the liberal arts college in America is provided. (MLW)

Institutional advancement is defined as the craft of securing understanding and support from internal and external constituencies for all the programs and activities of the college, and selling is seen as the means for achieving institutional advancement goals. The making of friends who become donors is discussed. (MLW)

The rationale and history behind the merger of the University of Tasmania and the College of Advanced Education in Southern Tasmania are explained. The merger will expand a small regional university into a more comprehensive institution serving a broader clientele. The problems of such a change are discussed. (MSE)

Douglass Cater, president of Washington College, a small liberal arts college that was Maryland's first chartered institution, is profiled. The president's attitudes on liberal arts and specialization, the stated role of the college, and details of the inaugural ceremony are noted. (MSE)

Three distinct eras of higher education are seen as characterizing the 200-year history of Williams College (Massachusetts): first as a Christian college, then as a gentleman's school, and, finally, as a consumer-oriented institution as part of a general trend toward consumerism after World War II resulting from social change and decline in the…

Aspects of the small liberal arts college's environment that contribute to the intellectual and personal development of faculty as well as students include accessibility, visibility, flexibility, the institution's desire for interdisciplinary inquiry, and a reward system for scholarship. (MSE)

The mission of the Oglala Lakota College is to establish and operate certificate- and degree-granting postsecondary institutions on Pine Ridge Reservation. The purposes of the college include tribal, cultural, academic, and community concerns. This booklet presents the 25-year history of the college; the historical struggle of the Lakota (Sioux)…

Whereas higher education in general has not fully met its responsibility for preparing individuals for international citizenship, a group of 50 small, selective, independent liberal arts colleges has made a substantial contribution through their long-standing commitments to international matters in both curriculum and institutional environment.…

A trustee orientation or colloquium program designed to enable representatives of various college governing and administrative bodies to meet together and share ideas is described. The proposed model was used at Emmanuel College in Boston. The college is governed by a Board of Trustees, appointed by the Corporation, which owns the college. The…

Bradford College's experience with curriculum and administrative development in a period of extreme adversity is an example of how a new concept of mission can invigorate an institution while a survival mentality can weaken it. (MSE)

Education is in a period of increasing obligation to produce in a period of decreasing resources. Colleges, gradually adjusting to this situation, are undergoing changes in both staffing and administration. Three categories of change in small amd medium-sized higher education institutions that are likely to occur in the next few years are: (1)…

The development of a Planning, Management, and Evaluation (PME) system at Voorhees College, is described. The project at the small, liberal arts college was supported by an Advanced Institutional Development Program (AIDP) grant. Primary objectives were to decrease the responsibility of the college's chief officer and to upgrade the academic…

Lessons learned by five small, private colleges about meeting the challenges facing higher education are described. Each of the colleges developed a unique educational program emphasizing the liberal arts that responds to current challenges. Each school has experienced increased enrollments and retention, growth in endowments and plants, larger…