Search results for ""Author Michael W. Kirst""

Between 1945 and 1990 the United States built the largest and most productive higher education system in world history. Over the last two 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 are 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 to schools doing 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 "traditional" students, linear models of 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.

Read more less

In From High School to College educational policy experts Michael W. Kirst, Andrea Venezia, and their contributors reveal why so many students are entering college unprepared for college level work and often unable to complete a degree. This important book presents the findings of the Bridge Project¾a major national research study conducted by Stanford University and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the U.S. Department of Education. The researchers examined the fit between what high schools were doing to prepare students for college admissions and course work, and what colleges considered when admitting and placing incoming freshman. Based on hundreds of interviews with teachers and counselors, thousands of surveys with students and parents, and a thorough examination of the policies and practices in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, and Texas, From High School to College offers recommendations for bridging the gap between high school and college and for improving college admission and graduation rates.

Read more less

Between 1945 and 1990 the United States built the largest and most productive higher education system in world history. Over the last two 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 are 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 to schools doing 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 "traditional" students, linear models of 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.

Read more less

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.

Read more less