During the 1870s to 1930s America adopted a model for the current American research university which combined the English undergraduate university system and the German research and graduate study oriented university system. Opening in 1876, John Hopkins was one of the first universities to recognize the importance of research and the production of knowledge. As John Hopkins’ first president Daniel Coit Gilman put it, “there seemed to be a demand for scientific laboratories and professorships...stimulating students to prosecute study with a truly scientific aim” (Cole 19). Because of their graduate programs, faculty members, and research facilities, research universities contribute greatly to growth and innovation within various disciplines, …show more content…
In The Great American University, Jonathan Cole attributes the pressure to expand research universities to economic needs, professional and alumni groups, and a bigger is better mentality. He argues that research universities grew in America because “size mattered. The number of undergraduates, Ph.D. students, degrees conferred, professional school students, and faculty members all contributed to a university’s reputation” (38). Because of the expansion of research universities, students are offered a multitude of specializations. While liberal arts schools focus on a well rounded undergraduate education with typically smaller enrollment sizes, research universities prioritize research and professional education programs. Although this can result in faculty neglect of undergraduates over research, from the start of their college career, students can choose a major from numerous fields. With the presence of graduate programs on campus, students can also connect with research professionals to increase their depth of …show more content…
A research university is rooted in the belief that “research was what created real life in a university, and this interest in matters of the mind and original discovery attracted superior people to the university” (Cole 19). Near the beginning of their inception in America, research universities “realized that faculty talent was a commodity” (Cole 32). Faculty talent brings in money, money funds better facilities, and better facilities attract more talent and improve research and so on. The ongoing cycle of research, talent, facilities, and money serves to perpetuate the existence of the university. A study on “institutional prestige and reputation among research universities” found that “faculty productivity and alumni giving” are important aspects in determining a research university’s reputation (Volkewein 140). Reputation is a key factor in the competitiveness of a university and therefore its ability to attract talent. Both faculty productivity and alumni giving contribute to the cycle of funding and talent universities rely on. Funding keeps university research going and make its results applicable to society. A university’s research not only continues the growth and development of the university, but also influences society with its
This shift in university life has caused the emergence of a more focused and hard-working student body. There are those from past generations who will look at the happenings of colleges today and ridicule this change. And even after moving through the nostalgic haze that surrounds the memories of the past, the differences can still be seen, but it should be known that today's students are just adapting to the system that has already been established for them. This systematic change is to be expected. Considering that the world is not the same as it was in the 1960s, why would we assume that an institution would be exactly the same as it was
Hello everyone! In this discussion, I contrasted and compared the following universities: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and Harvard University in Massachusetts, University of Buenos Aires and Duke University North Carolina, Complutense University of Madrid and Yale University, National University of Costa Rica and Princeton University.
In Frank Bruni’s New York Time’s article, “The Imperiled Promise of College,” he argues that college is no longer a guarantee of success because students are not being properly motivated and guided into the programs that will provide them with jobs.
What stands out about American universities today? Is it the academic opportunities offered to students, experienced faculty, or strong sense of community? Or...perhaps they have lost their focus. It is not uncommon for universities to focus their efforts and budgets elsewhere; by building state of the art gyms, for example, remodeling luxury dorms, grooming campuses, or creating more management positions. College students and professors alike are subject to the nationally occurring changes in higher level education. Colleges are becoming commercialized and tuition is rising, but is the quality of education improving? In “Why We Should Fear University, Inc.”, Fredrik DeBoer is able to provide a personal take on the issue of corporate domination
We’ve all heard the saying “one size fits all,” but when it comes to our education should one size really fit all (Allitt 3612)? Patrick Allitt, a professor of history at Emory University in Atlanta wrote the essay “Should Undergraduates Specialize?” published in 2006 in the Chronicle of Higher Education, he argues that American colleges should give students the chance to choose between a liberal arts education or one that is more specialized to those who want it. Allitt provides an effective argument by building his credibility with personal experiences and feelings, different viewpoints of the argument, and explaining the advantages and disadvantages between the two different
In recent years, under the combined force of technological innovation and market operation, our society has made remarkable progress in improving the quality of education. Universities as the major institutions of higher education are inevitably impacted by the social advancement. In his essay, “On the Uses of a Liberal Education,” Mark Edmundson argues that “university culture, like American culture writ large, is, to put it crudely, ever more devoted to consumption and entertainment, to the using and using up of goods and images” (44). He claims that college education gradually loses its traditional culture under the influence of social changes. Yet university as a significant element in society cannot be viewed separately from that society. A process of dynamic reallocation in which educational resources are redistributed towards
The right and privilege to higher education in today’s society teeters like the scales of justice. In reading Andrew Delbanco’s, “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, it is apparent that Delbanco believes that the main role of college is to accommodate that needs of all students in providing opportunities to discover individual passions and dreams while furthering and enhancing the economic strength of the nation. Additionally, Delbanco also views college as more than just a time to prepare for a job in the future but a way in which students and young adults can prepare for their future lives so they are meaningful and purposeful. Even more important is the role that college will play in helping and guiding students to learn how to accept alternate point of views and the importance that differing views play in a democratic society. With that said, the issue is not the importance that higher education plays in society, but exactly who should pay the costly price tag of higher education is a raging debate in all social classes, cultures, socioeconomic groups and races.
When it comes to the individual choice on college education. Each student is motivated by a different branch of knowledge. Some have the goals of becoming lawyers, doctors, bankers, others choose to learn more about the liberal arts and its influence in building their personal characteristics with the world around them. This is precisely why institutions offer a large variety of programs to attract many high school seniors when it comes to deciding which institute to attend.
Instead, Sanford J. Ungar presents the arguments that all higher education is expensive and needs to be reevaluated for Americans. He attempts to divert the argument of a liberal arts education tuition by stating “ The cost of American higher education is spiraling out id control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains i productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things” (Ungar 661). The author completely ignores the aspects of paying for a liberal arts degree or even the cost comparison to a public university. Rather, Ungar leads the reader down a “slippery slope” of how public universities attain more funding and grants from the government, while liberal arts colleges are seemingly left behind. The author increasingly becomes tangent to the initial arguments he presented by explaining that students have a more interactive and personal relationship with their professors and other students. Sanford J. Ungar did not address one aspect of the cost to attend a liberal arts college or how it could be affordable for students who are not in the upper class.
Hutcheson, P. (2011). Goals for United States higher education: from democracy to globalisation. History Of Education, 40(1), 45-57.
Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career-readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. For most the well-rounded education, it usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. No matter the amount of money paid, parents would be willing to gi...
One does not have to graduate high school and go straight to a four-year university. It is sometimes better for a student to go to a community college and focus on transfer courses, or simply get an Associate’s Degree. On the other hand, there are young adults that prefer to leap straight into a university and focus on the specific program for their Bachelor’s Degree. Although they are both a lot alike, there are many differences between the two. Universities are known for having large campuses; consequently, resulting in large number of students in each class.
Thelin, John R.. A history of American higher education. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. Print. (3)
A college education gives a person the opportunity to be successful in life, either financially or morally dependent on the goals that they set for their life. They will choose a college that offer programs for the major of their choice, where they will specialize and receive a degree. The decision to pursue a higher education will give the opportunity to earn a better income over someone who does not have a degree. College is more of life preparation course that will help make sure a successful career. If a person pursues a career in engineering, physics or mathematics their curriculum would include more liberal art preparation courses, in order for them to earn their degree, so someone pursuing a degree in these types of careers are attending college for job preparation. On December 10, 2009 at Hamilton University in Clinton, New York, college professors debated current college curriculum (Liew). They talked about how their college could make a leap from being good to being great. At the 22nd American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges conference held in Long Beach California on November 14, 1996 the topic of changing curriculum was discussed (“Mich”). The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is eliminating its philosophy major, while Michigan State University is doing away with American studies and classics, after years of decline in enrollments in those majors (Zernike). The purpose of a college education is to meet the student's liberal art’s needs so that they can compete and understand the connection between a degree and a job that will enable them to compete with other world economies, give them a well-rounded education that will enable them to earn a higher income, and retain a lifetime full of knowledge.
Some might say you can’t make a living with your nose stuck in a book, however being a book critic is the perfect job for book lovers who want to delve deeper into the meaning of a story and share their findings. Of course one can not gain the skills needed to be a book critic overnight. Three universities, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), and University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), based on the criterias of the distance from one’s home, the majors they offer, and their admission requirements, are to be discussed in this essay, The University of Texas at San Antonio has been given special attention for it has reached all of the criteria for the author of this essay and so has been deemed