Future-directed liberal education that will prepare students for effective living is the major challenge for higher education today. Such a curriculum should teach critical thinking skills, continuous learning, and creativity or fluency of ideas. It should also provide a sense of efficacy and responsibility. (Author/MSE)

Describes Oglethorpe University's Exceptional Educational Experiment, launched in 1939 to demonstrate that students, required to manage their time wisely, could undertake twice as many courses and maintain an "A" average. Draws from the recollections of four former program participants about their experiences and reactions to discuss…

At the beginning of each academic year, Shippensburg University (Pennsylvania) organizes small group book discussion sessions designed to draw freshmen into the academic culture and develop critical thought processes. Considerations in selecting books for discussion and in preparing for and orchestrating the sessions are outlined. Some unresolved…

Higher education reform is failing because public policies address a student population that no longer dominates and are too weak to support the curricular changes necessary. Contracts between policymakers and institutions that specify and require reporting of program outcomes would involve students and institutions in the responsibility for those…

An Association of American Colleges report recommends changes to strengthen undergraduate instruction, urging academic departments to (1) consider how courses in a major relate to each other and to outside courses and (2) structure majors so students can build on their knowledge, tying it together in a final senior experience. (MSE)

Whereas higher education in general has not fully met its responsibility for preparing individuals for international citizenship, a group of 50 small, selective, independent liberal arts colleges has made a substantial contribution through their long-standing commitments to international matters in both curriculum and institutional environment.…

College administrators hope distance education will help them beat the competition. However, it won't give students the intellectual stimulation of a real-live teacher, and it threatens faculty governance and the liberal arts. We can sustain some distance education as long as faculty remains in control of the curriculum and aware of its common…

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"…

Argues that the current move at Australian universities toward instrumental programs of work-based learning threatens the existence of the liberal university, where knowledge is pursued predominantly for its own sake. Four dominant discourses--the liberal, the utilitarian, the reformist, and the liberal-vocational models--are identified as forces…

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…

For over 30 years, sociologists have expressed concern that the undergraduate curriculum in sociology lacks coherence. The sociology major continues to be loosely structured with few opportunities for sequential learning. To achieve greater coherence in the major, I recommend that departments sequence more courses or infuse both empirical and…

There is widespread concern that higher education is being compromised by being turned into a "commodity" to be "consumed". This article represents an initial attempt to explore the trends in both the UK and US, and considers how the law has responded to them. It argues, however, that there is an important distinction to be…

Perspectives on characteristics of college curricula, their influence, and assessment are analyzed, based on a 1982 panel held for the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Discussion topics pertaining to programs and degrees included the proliferation of programs, the college credit hour, changing student constituencies, vocationalism…

This report provides information regarding the "course taking" patterns of students in the Hawaii Community College system. The data sheds light on student sampling of other areas outside of their major field, clientele served by academic departments, and course numbering patterns. Included are the student credit hours (SCH) generated by…