Every year, millions of students take Advanced Placement (AP) exams hoping to score enough points to earn college credit and save on their tuition bill. But are they getting a real college education? The College Board says that AP classes and exams make the AP program more accessible and represent a step forward for educational justice. But the…

The unrivaled amount of cash poured into the college athletic system has made sports programs breeding grounds for corruption while diverting crucial resources from the academic mission of universities. Like money in Washington politics, the influence bought by a complex set of self-interested actors seriously undermines movement toward reform…

Founded in 1888 as Miss Wheelock's Kindergarten Training School, Wheelock College's mission was to prepare students to work in the helping professions, including teaching and social work. But in 2018, struggling with growing debt and declining admissions, the 130-year-old institution officially closed and merged with Boston University, creating…

Leadership matters more than ever in this turbulent moment in American higher education. During these unprecedented times, glaring internal inefficiencies, communication breakdowns, and an overriding sense of cultural inertia on many campuses are too often set against a backdrop of changing consumer preferences, high sticker prices, declining…

Colleges and universities are among the most cherished--and controversial--institutions in the United States. In this updated edition of "A History of American Higher Education," John R. Thelin offers welcome perspective on the triumphs and crises of this highly influential sector in American life. Exploring American higher education…

With the pool of high school graduates decreasing, national and global competition increasing, and the need to invest in new technologies and approaches growing, many universities and small colleges alike are struggling--not just to thrive, but to survive. In this challenging environment, mergers and consolidations are often viewed as options of…

Unlike other industries, in higher education an institution's most important asset is its reputation. Yet as fundamental as it is, many leaders continue to view managing reputation as dishonest and counterproductive, a suspect process that undermines the very idea of reputation as an organic outcome of reality. When leadership credibility is on…

Higher education expert William F. Massy's decades as a professor, senior university officer, and consultant have left him with a passionate belief in the need for reform in America's traditional universities. In "Reengineering the University," he addresses widespread concerns that higher education's costs are too high, learning falls…

First published in 1999, "American Higher Education in the Twenty First Century" offered a comprehensive introduction to the central issues facing American colleges and universities. This thoroughly revised edition brings the classic volume up to date. The contributors have rewritten every chapter to address major changes in higher…

Colleges and universities are at the forefront of efforts to preserve the earth's resources for future generations. Carbon neutrality, renewable energy sources, green building strategies, and related initiatives require informed and courageous leaders at all levels of higher education. James Martin and James E. Samels have worked closely with…

Nearly one thousand colleges and universities in the United States face major challenges--from catastrophic hurricanes to loss of accreditation to sagging enrollment. What can leaders of such at-risk institutions do to improve their situation? "Turnaround" gives college and university leaders the tools they need to put their fragile institutions…

This long-awaited sequel to Richard Hofstadter and Wilson Smith's classic anthology "American Higher Education: A Documentary History" presents one hundred and seventy-two key edited documents that record the transformation of higher education over the past sixty years. The volume includes such seminal documents as Vannevar Bush's 1945…