The urban university has become the dominant institution of higher learning in America. Although the concept of university is in keeping with traditions in American higher education, there are major obstacles to the fulfillment of the urban university's purpose. The urban college and university have great potential in playing an increasingly…

As part of a study of access and admission to higher education in Germany and the United States, a German specialist was invited to critique the American system of access to higher education, especially admission testing and open admission. The author's objective is to present selected problems related to objective testing within the framework of…

This book presents concerns and raises questions about the choice programs being proposed and implemented around the United States. It argues that poorly conceived, hastily enacted choice programs may do more harm than good. The demand for educational choice may result in lost opportunities for students (some groups more than others), weakened…

Measures to improve parent and student choice of school have recently become an important issue for educational reform in a number of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. This book summarizes the school-choice experiences of selected OECD countries. The data, collected by the OECD/Centre for Educational Research…

Based on a 3-year case study of an open-access community college, this monograph examines the background to, causes of, and possible resolutions for the decline of literacy in open-access colleges. Chapter 1 presents a working definition of literacy; considers the nature of literacy in a community college setting; and raises issues concerning the…

The rhetoric of the community colleges presents them as democratizing agents, enabling the underprivileged to move upward in society through education. While this is their purpose, the community colleges also aspire to gain acceptance as regular members of the system of higher education. In Connecticut, the image of the community colleges suffers…

This book contends that choice is critical to the process by which parents, students, and teachers can build consensus that allows a community of learning to emerge. It argues that the key to meaningful school choice is a system of tuition vouchers involving nongovernment schools, together with deregulation, which will foster an education that is…

In 1970 the City University of New York (CUNY) initiated an open admissions policy that aimed to create an unusually high level of educational opportunity, especially for low-income minority youth. Opponents asserted that this policy so degraded academic standards that CUNY's diplomas lost their value. Using a data set with extensive information…

Three essays are collected in this study of access to higher education in other countries: "Part-Time Undergraduate Studies in Ontario," by Robert M. Pike; "Access to Higher Education in England and Wales," by Naomi E. S. McIntosh; and "Strategies for a Broader Enrollment in Swedish Higher Education," by Urban…