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.

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.

An in-depth look at why American universities continue to favor U.S.-focused social science research despite efforts to make scholarship more cosmopolitan U.S. research universities have long endeavored to be cosmopolitan places, yet the disciplines of economics, political science, and sociology have remained stubbornly parochial. Despite decades of government and philanthropic investment in international scholarship, the most prestigious academic departments still favor research and expertise on the United States. Why? Seeing the World answers this question by examining university research centers that focus on the Middle East and related regional area studies. Drawing on candid interviews with scores of top scholars and university leaders to understand how international inquiry is perceived and valued inside the academy, Seeing the World explains how intense competition for tenure-line appointments encourages faculty to pursue "American" projects that are most likely to garner professional advancement. At the same time, constrained by tight budgets at home, university leaders eagerly court patrons and clients worldwide but have a hard time getting departmental faculty to join the program. Together these dynamics shape how scholarship about the rest of the world evolves. At once a work-and-occupations study of scholarly disciplines, an essay on the formal organization of knowledge, and an inquiry into the fate of area studies, Seeing the World is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of knowledge in a global era.

An in-depth look at why American universities continue to favor U.S.-focused social science research despite efforts to make scholarship more cosmopolitan U.S. research universities have long endeavored to be cosmopolitan places, yet the disciplines of economics, political science, and sociology have remained stubbornly parochial. Despite decades of government and philanthropic investment in international scholarship, the most prestigious academic departments still favor research and expertise on the United States. Why? Seeing the World answers this question by examining university research centers that focus on the Middle East and related regional area studies. Drawing on candid interviews with scores of top scholars and university leaders to understand how international inquiry is perceived and valued inside the academy, Seeing the World explains how intense competition for tenure-line appointments encourages faculty to pursue "American" projects that are most likely to garner professional advancement. At the same time, constrained by tight budgets at home, university leaders eagerly court patrons and clients worldwide but have a hard time getting departmental faculty to join the program. Together these dynamics shape how scholarship about the rest of the world evolves. At once a work-and-occupations study of scholarly disciplines, an essay on the formal organization of knowledge, and an inquiry into the fate of area studies, Seeing the World is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of knowledge in a global era.