Identifies institutional pressures and demographic contingencies to be addressed if general education is to be a high-priority and high-quality endeavor at major research universities. Describes the University of Pennsylvania's strategic planning process and its curriculum emphasizing breadth of knowledge, understanding of intellectual inquiry,…

General education programs need not be circuitous or formless. They should: stress development of the intellect; focus on problem-solving skills; integrate general objectives and professional competencies; and foster interdisciplinary studies. (MSE)

While most administrators and faculty would support the idea of developing aesthetic education in the college curriculum, few feel any urgency about it. Each institution should examine its mission statement and develop a comprehensive philosophy about the place of the arts in its curriculum. (MSE)

The general education curriculum should include academic experiences based upon selected theories of intellectual development. The works of Dewey, Piaget, and Perry provide the theoretical framework for an interdisciplinary model that takes cognitive development as the primary goal and disciplinary exposure as a by-product. (Author/MLW)

A warning is issued on the limiting effects of too much emphasis on career education. (JD)

Discusses affordability of developmental education, maintenance of transfer curricula and general education requirements, prospects for individualized curricula, developing a community education ethic, reconciling curriculum with students' course taking pattern, and organization of curriculum. (MB)

Presents an overview of the Advancing the Humanities Project, which provides 24 community colleges with assistance in developing and improving the study of the humanities on their campuses by having them work with the directors of exemplary programs. Offers profiles of the 8 exemplary programs. (DMM)

Discusses the difficulty of defining and measuring curricular quality and traces the long history of the search for quality in education. Reviews the criticisms and recommendations voiced by the writers of the educational reform movement of the mid-1980s. Describes the Great Books curriculum at Saint Mary's College in California. (DMM)

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)

In a discussion of whether higher education must define, for the general public, the meaning of the baccalaureate degree, two higher education policy specialists present their perspectives. One argues that greater emphasis should be on the education behind the degree and recommends research and experimentation into outcomes. The other finds…

Liberal education is incomplete if it does not prepare educated people to address the presence of technology, particularly the information products of technology in the modern world, in an informed and critical way. In this context, computer literacy is not computer training, but rather is related to aesthetic education, history and science, and…

Argues that general education differs from liberal education in its underlying assumptions, ideological orientations, pedagogical methods, curricular structures, and ultimate aims. Contends that understanding these differences is important to curricular reform. (DMM)

The current debate about the content of collegiate general education is more amicable and more productive when waged in terms of alternative answers to fundamental questions than in terms of allocation of turf. As long as differences are merely tolerated, and their causes not explored, political and educational divisions will deepen. (MSE)

For the first time in 200 years there is no clearly acknowledged national purpose for higher education. Through fundamental questioning, educators can establish a curriculum to prepare students to set a new agenda, rejuvenating both colleges and society. This focus on questions is not meant to encourage slow pace but ensure that the right…

How do evolving academic priorities influence the review and reform of a pioneering general education program?