What to read after Higher Education in Crisis?

This book’s purpose is clearly realized. In a balanced presentation, the pressures for change, the conflicts inherent in the university’s yielding to the demands of society, the curriculum changes with necessary adaptations of teaching style—all are laid bare, supported by an enormous amount of research. While reverence is paid to the goals of a liberal arts education, after a few chapters of setting the stage, the ultimatum states: to survive the corporate eclipse of the university, a compromise must be reached with social demands that will leave intact the university’s fundamental mission.

This book makes a fine contribution to the growing debate about the future of higher education by exploring the university’s altering landscape, the conflicts over its core values and legitimacy, and the challenge for the university to negotiate the new landscape and to redefine itself within a larger educational context. The methods chosen for this exploration involve the use of case studies as well as critical analysis of the paradigm shifts drawn from both the United States and the United Kingdom. The cases are used to provide concrete examples of current issues. Eventually, the authors succeed in investigating the crisis confronted by the university as it tries to maintain a proper balance within an educational landscape that shifts between “corporate realities” and “educational ideals.”