Highly specialized education is no longer relevant to the needs of our diversified society. A return to a broad, general education curriculum is needed. (HS)

The success of a college or university must rest on its academic integrity. The college president sets the tone for an institution, determines the strength of general education and liberal learning. The presidents, the provosts, and the deans must take the initiative. (MLW)

The designation of "liberal" as the educational path toward a person's cultural completeness has given way to use of that term in contexts implying freedom for personal exploration of all kinds. The primary functions of the liberal education institution have become sidetracked by consumerism. (MLW)

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 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)

Six studies of general education are described. A Penn State survey details changes in general education requirements over 15 years. UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute used the college catalog to furnish information about curricular dimensions and others attempt to determine the effects of general education. (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)

The crisis in the humanities is linked to society's prevalent attitudes which assume that the humanities are extraneous to the real needs of society. The humanities can help in "developing a moral and imaginative framework for action." (MLW)

Traditionally, the goals of a liberal arts education have been expressed in terms of "self-actualization,""self-realization," and other terms implying self-fulfillment. The reality is that focus on measurable "achievements" tends to put students out of touch with the functioning of their own psyches. (MLW)

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)

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)

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.…

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)

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…

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)