The Struggle to Reform Our Colleges (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780691177472)

Why efforts to improve American higher educational attainment haven't worked, and where to go from here

During the first decade of this century, many commentators predicted that American higher education was about to undergo major changes that would be brought about under the stimulus of online learning and other technological advances. Toward the end of the decade, the president of the United States declared that America would regain its historic lead in the education of its workforce within the next ten years through a huge increase in the number of students earning "quality" college degrees.

Several years have elapsed since these pronouncements were made, yet the rate of progress has increased very little, if at all, in the number of college graduates or the nature and quality of the education they receive. In The Struggle to Reform Our Colleges, Derek Bok seeks to explain why so little change has occurred by analyzing the response of America's colleges; the influence of students, employers, foundations, accrediting organizations, and government officials; and the impact of market forces and technological innovation. In the last part of the book, Bok identifies a number of initiatives that could improve the performance of colleges and universities. The final chapter examines the process of change itself and describes the strategy best calculated to quicken the pace of reform and enable colleges to meet the challenges that confront them.

Author: Derek Bok
ISBN-10: 0691177473
ISBN-13: 9780691177472
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/05/2017
Pages: 240
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.40w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 10/15/2017 pg. 96