One of the best ways to make student learning come alive on college campuses is to improve collaboration between students and the academic affairs staff. The general-education program, where philosophy and curriculum align most closely with the student-affairs concern for the whole student, is an appropriate place to start. (MSE)

Chronicles the process of reforming the liberal education program at Franklin Pierce College (New Hampshire), organized around the theme of the individual and community. Discusses objectives in integrating the "civic arts" into the core curriculum and challenges encountered in balancing "individual" and "community"…

Our higher education system does not nurture the inner lives of students or help them acquire the self-understanding that is the basis for a satisfying life, nor does it provide the safe and nurturing environment people need in order to grow. What is needed is a more holistic way of conceiving education, one that accepts the importance of…

Describes the evolution of DePaul University's (Illinois) efforts to build ties with its surrounding community through service learning and a week-long freshman immersion in issues related to Chicago. The institution's own history is chronicled briefly, and some of the inherent difficulties in establishing and sustaining meaningful community-based…

Approaches to developing the college curriculum and teaching techniques to cultivate or enhance the student's capacity for abstract logical reasoning are discussed, and their implications for testing and faculty development are explored briefly. (MSE)

Broad changes in the academic culture and the curriculum since the 1960s are reviewed, and the need is emphasized for a re-formation of the curriculum to bring the student back into focus and to rebuild the humanities. (MSE)

What is wrong in the American parochialism about foreign languages is the assumption that language acquisition is a cosmetic gain, without any immediate or forseeable practical use. Languages will only be learned effectively when Americans learn that they can be used in getting tasks accomplished. (MSE)

Twentieth century historical treatments of liberal education, often conflicting and confused, are examined and the relationship of this confusion to previous historical interpretations is discussed. It is concluded that liberal education is neglected as a topic of historical research. (MSE)

An undergraduate curriculum in public affairs is proposed that is multidisciplinary, rooted in the liberal arts, and that emphasizes development of conceptual, analytical, and interpersonal skills required for public policymaking and implementation. Questions addressed would include such issues as the definitions of public and national interests.…

Colleges of liberal arts and sciences within universities are suggested to be in a time of crisis. Instead of fighting with professional schools or professional programs for the time and attention of students, through cooperative planning, goals can be realized and numerous paths to educational ends can be created. (MLW)

The college liberal arts curriculum should help disengage students from their own cultural perspectives so they can more adequately think and argue about the past. Similarly, in studying how literary texts represent cultures, students need not "know" the culture but simply understand the statement they make. (MSE)

The Association of American Colleges and Universities' statement calling for a national dialog about effective higher education is presented. It examines the considerable task institutions face in educating a generation of students in an era of near-universal postsecondary education, fundamental choices to be made, mixed signals in public policy,…

Describes the Association of American Colleges and Universities' Faculty and Curriculum Development Seminar, held in Japan and designed to open faculty minds to global issues. The year-long seminar involves three-person teams from eight institutions, competitively selected through proposals. Its three phases include preparatory reading and…

Quantification has traditionally been considered inconsistent with humanism, and humanists suffer from largely unarticulated fears about computer use in their discipines that prevent them from gaining the advantages of computers in humanities instruction. (MSE)

The core curriculum of a civic liberal education should combine the values of a stable cultural pluralism and political unity. Students should undertake scholarly and critical study of the underlying civic principles and values necessary for generating an informed and effective citizenry. (Author/MSE)