Course Description
An overview of the higher education system in the United States.
Course readings and discussion will focus on unique attributes
of the system, including its institutional diversity, state and
federal roles in funding and management, demographic trends, and
the public's conception of higher education.
Athena Title
Higher Education in the US
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in EDHI 8010E
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will develop an understanding of the United States higher education landscape.
- Students will develop an understanding of the importance and function of different higher education institutional types.
- Students will develop an understanding of the roles played by important internal and external constituencies.
- Students will develop an understanding of the federal and state governmental role(s) in higher education.
- Students will develop an understanding of current and forecasted problems for higher education.
Topical Outline
- 1. Important differences among institutional types. Discussion of the current and historical roles played by two-year colleges, liberal arts colleges, comprehensive universities and research universities. Analysis of disparate funding and expenditure patterns associated with institutional types. Discussion of the different experiences of faculty and students at these institutions.
- 2. The academic community. Discussion of shared governance and academic freedom in the academy. Analysis of changing student demographics and perspectives on the value of higher education.
- 3. Financing higher education. State and federal roles in funding higher education at the student and institutional levels and changing conceptions of public and private good.
- 4. Accountability in higher education. What is higher education's role in the new knowledge-based economy and how should it be held accountable? What are society's demands of higher education and how have these changed as massification has become post-massification.
