During the '40s and '50s, an experiment in general education was conducted at the undergraduate college at the University of Chicago. "The Chicago Plan" included: students would enroll after two years of high school; a strictly prescribed curriculum; an autonomous faculty; and comprehensive exams to assess students' progress. (MLW)

The history of undergraduate teaching in the United States is discussed in an attempt to determine whether the curriculum is now in a period of crisis. The most crucial ingredient in the excellence of higher education may be the admissions policies and the quality of the faculty teaching available courses. (MLW)

Colleges must seek a curriculum that prepares a student for a career as well as citizenship. A trilinear curriculum is suggested that combines equal parts of general, integrative (theme-oriented, interdisciplinary, and elective), and vocational courses and that begins with precollegiate education. (Author/MSE)

Four goals for a Second Wave of general education reform should be: broaden existing reforms and embed them more firmly in the life of the college; engage a larger number of colleges; attract new individuals to the movement; and confront more candidly the barriers to devising, approving, and implementing reforms. (MLW)

An examination of trends in undergraduate liberal arts degrees and curricula reports two findings: (1) renewed interest in the liberal arts degree has occurred primarily outside liberal arts colleges, within universities; and (2) the struggle for institutional survival has caused some colleges to scale back or abandon their original missions. (MSE)

This set of five essays explores the pros and cons of undergraduate core curricula in colleges and universities. Core curricula are seen as either providing the ideal educational base and a shared background, or as a loss of diversity and a protective shell that faculties can use to avoid considering the relevance of a liberal arts education. (JMD)

The traditional relationship between a bachelor's degree and the preferred occupational slots in the nation's labor markets is seen as having weakened or collapsed in numerous fields. The general trend in this decade has been away from disciplinary majors toward "vocational" ones. (MLW)

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's report on collegiate education, "College," is discussed by Ernest L. Boyer. The undergraduate experience and quality, college teaching, assessment, the quality of campus life, student development, and general education are discussed. (MLW)

An institution devoted to education must do its best to study the learning process and to assess the effects of its programs. Without such critical self-examination, no endeavor can make sustained progress. An excerpt from the book "Higher Learning" by Derek Bok is presented. (MLW)