The loose smorgasbord distribution requirements and free electives of the '60s, have given way to more proscribed requirements and core programs. General education is a response to a need to reaffirm the connectedness among people. The agenda for general education is to teach those common experiences, relationships, and ethical concerns. (MLW)

The quality of U.S. higher education as described in three early nineteenth century reports are reviewed and compared with similar recent reports in substance and approach. (MSE)

After a survey of general education reform movements of this century, it is suggested that general education should focus on experiences that knit individuals into a community. Six themes are proposed: use of symbols, membership in groups and institutions, producing and consuming, relationship with nature, sense of time, and values and beliefs.…

There is a sense among today's students that they are passengers on a sinking ship, even though they are optimistic about their own futures. A new curriculum including interdisciplinary study, majors in problems rather than disciplines, career internships, and theses is proposed to counter student attitudes. (MSE)

This article summarizes conclusions from a survey of the multicultural curriculum practices of 196 U.S. colleges and universities. Among findings are that 34 percent have a multicultural general education requirement, 54 percent have introduced multiculturalism into course offerings, and most institutions are seeking to increase faculty…