This book examines the full range of experience of the nation's baccalaureate candidates. Working around the premise that education is not something that professors do but rather something students participate in, this book gives succinct accounts of the full range of goals of undergraduate education, from the acquisition of certain proficiencies to the fostering of character traits. The book covers the full range of curricular topics--humanities, languages, sciences, mathematics, computer literacy, history, global awareness, fine arts, and others. It also addresses the development of critical thinking and the "hidden agenda" of non-academic institutional traits that impinge on learning. Following a discussion of basic assumptions about higher education in the United States, the book devotes five chapters to pedagogically relevant categories of educational goals: "Proficiencies"; "Conversancies"; "The Special Case of the Humanities"; "Competency: The Major"; and "Character Traits." The book's focus is on educational effectiveness based on an awareness of the distinction between what educators say and what actually happens to students. Also discussed is the interrelatedness of different components and activities of educational institutions, and how these can be organized and harnessed to achieve the desired goals. Contains 80 references and an index. (GLR)