The range of controversies and changes emerging from the current revival of general education are examined, and many ideas, examples, and recommendations for achieving realistic and successful curricular reform are offered. Instead of either offering an apology for general education or advocating any particular approach, the book draws on solid experiences of hundreds of institutions to describe and evaluate general education in the context of concrete institutional realities, practical problems, and workable program alternatives. Analysis is based on survey data from 193 colleges, program descriptions gathered from 200 institutions for a national clearinghouse, professional experience of the author as director of the 3-year Project on General Education Models (Project GEM), and contemporary thinking. Guidelines are developed that can help academic leaders set up general education programs tailored to the missions and traditions of their own institutions. Strategies for initiating and orchestrating change are highlighted, and promising approaches to teaching, faculty development, funding administration, grading, and program evaluation are revealed. Appended are findings from the Association of American Colleges Survey and a directory of institutions reviewing general education. (LB)