Between 1945 and 1990 the United States built the largest and most productive higher education system in world history. Over the last several decades, however, dramatic budget cuts to public academic services and skyrocketing tuition have made college completion more difficult for many. Nevertheless the democratic promise of education and the global competition for educated workers mean ever growing demand. "Remaking College" considers this changing context, arguing that a growing accountability revolution, the push for greater efficiency and productivity, and the explosion of online learning is dramatically changing the character of higher education.
Writing from a range of disciplines and professional backgrounds, the contributors each bring a unique perspective to the fate and future of U.S. higher education. By directing their focus on schools which do the lion's share of undergraduate instruction--community colleges, comprehensive public universities, and for-profit institutions--they imagine a future unencumbered by dominant notions of the "traditional" student, linear models of student achievement, and college as a four-year residential experience. The result is a collection rich with new tools for helping people make more informed decisions about college--for themselves, for their children, and for American society as a whole.

Universities and colleges often operate between two worlds: higher education and economic systems. With a mission rooted in research, teaching, and public service, institutions of higher learning are also economic drivers in their regions, under increasing pressure to provide skilled workers to local companies. It is impossible to understand how current developments are affecting colleges without attending to the changes in both the higher education system and in the economic communities in which they exist. W. Richard Scott, Michael W. Kirst, and colleagues focus on the changing relations between colleges and companies in one vibrant economic region: the San Francisco Bay Area. Colleges and tech companies, they argue, share a common interest in knowledge generation and human capital, but they operate in social worlds that substantially differ, making them uneasy partners. Colleges are a part of a long tradition that stresses the importance of precedent, academic values, and liberal education. High-tech companies, by contrast, value innovation and know-how, and they operate under conditions that reward rapid response to changing opportunities. The economy is changing faster than the post-secondary education system. Drawing on quantitative and historical data from 1970 to 2012 as well as 10 case studies of colleges, this book describes a rich and often tense relationship between higher education and the tech industry. It focuses on the ways in which various types of colleges have endeavored-and often failed-to meet the demands of a vibrant economy and concludes with a discussion of current policy recommendations, suggestions for improvements and reforms at the state level, and a proposal to develop a regional body to better align educational and economic development.

Between 1945 and 1990 the United States built the largest and most productive higher education system in world history. Over the last several decades, however, dramatic budget cuts to public academic services and skyrocketing tuition have made college completion more difficult for many. Nevertheless the democratic promise of education and the global competition for educated workers mean ever growing demand. "Remaking College" considers this changing context, arguing that a growing accountability revolution, the push for greater efficiency and productivity, and the explosion of online learning is dramatically changing the character of higher education.
Writing from a range of disciplines and professional backgrounds, the contributors each bring a unique perspective to the fate and future of U.S. higher education. By directing their focus on schools which do the lion's share of undergraduate instruction--community colleges, comprehensive public universities, and for-profit institutions--they imagine a future unencumbered by dominant notions of the "traditional" student, linear models of student achievement, and college as a four-year residential experience. The result is a collection rich with new tools for helping people make more informed decisions about college--for themselves, for their children, and for American society as a whole.

Originally published in 1992, this landmark study on "convert Buddism" in Victorian America is a fascinating cultural history that explores the ways Buddism was adopted and understood by a variety of Americans including intellectuals, travellers, and critics. This new edition has a preface that places the book in the context of Buddism's growing influence in American culture today.