Higher Education in America: Revised Edition (The William G. Bowen Series)

Derek Bok is a positivist writing to the postmodern world of higher education. He firmly believes that there is an objective truth about colleges and universities, and he is determined to martial every ounce of empirical evidence to prove this. His scientific beliefs are in a higher education that he imagines as beautiful and deserving of love. And his affections are not blind. He details every disfigurement.The book's strengths are in the sections on undergraduate education and professional education. The center of the story is the tension that is mounting around the need to improve the quality of undergraduate instruction. His evaluation of professional schools and how they balance the demands of the academy with the demands of the profession is masterful. (Plot spoiler alert.) Medical schools are given high marks and business schools are found lacking.The weakness of the book is the Steinbergian view West. His core audience is the Northeast, but yet when he speaks of the needs to improve quality (learning and instruction) and quantity (enrollment and graduation) in higher education, he gives the elite selective schools the principal's hall pass. His view seems to be that the real job of educating America will fall to comprehensive colleges that are in a distant land beyond the Charles. Other than a fanciful idea about "admissions lotteries" for selective schools, he makes no real attempt to call for collective action by the Eastern elites. This is unfortunate, because he might be one of the few voices that has the strength to do just that. (His best opportunity in the text is missed in his chapter on "Graduate Education.")At times, Bok sounds like he has entered the muddy trenches of Midwestern administration when he rails against NCAA athletics and unhelpful competition created by magazine college rankings. But his chief credential is that he was President of Harvard. Were these ever his daily concern? What seems clear is that he has attempted to expand his audience, while still writing for the Crimson Choir.The language at the end of the book is wistful and yearning. He counsels future academic administrators "to do what they can with carrots and sticks" (p.405). His real audience that he attempts to reach is the collegium of faculty across America. This is where he seems to have placed his faith and hope for the future of higher education. And this is probably as it should be...trying to reach the people that love education, and not just care about it.

The first few chapters give a very informative overview of the major segments of higher education: community colleges, comprehensive universities, and research universities. However, after that, things get less concrete. I felt that the sections on graduate education mainly dealt with issues and not a good overview of the institutions, and I felt his statements weren't grounded in fact--it was a lot of "it could" and "maybes". I also had issues with some of his characterizations, like the only use for a PhD is to teach, or that "pure research" means writing articles with lots of citations. Also, he doesn't tie everything together until the afterword, which, in my opinion, doesn't allow thorough treatment of the issues he brought up, and doesn't occur until I've waded through 20 chapters.In short, I find the section on undergraduate education well worth reading, but I think it loses value after that.

Derek Bok has NAILED it with his comprehensive look at ALL aspects of higher education. This book is a "must read" for anyone who has an interest in higher education. It is insightful, thought-provoking, and thorough...presenting ALL sides of each area within higher ed. I wish every president and board member of higher ed institutions would read this book. I also wish federal agencies who dole out student loans would read the book. The reader can open the book to any page and will not be able to put it down. Well done, Derek Bok, and THANK YOU for taking the time to write this book!

This text was truly excellent. I found myself extremely impressed by the breadth and depth of Bok’s information and how I could apply it to my own career in higher education. It was a nice bonus that the text was cheaper here than anywhere else.

Thank you for the timely delivery and a quality book.

Very much an academic polemic. Author tackles all of the variations of higher education, to such an extent, including the professional graduate programs, it can be overwhelming to absorb. What were the author's main criticisms? Has accessible higher education for the masses benefited both individuals and society too? No doubt the usual post-secondary baccalaureate degree is not the best fit for all adults. Ironically, as the land of second chances, sprinkled with the continental ideal of a universal education, the U.S. remains committed to this approach.

This book was required for a course. It was interesting to read about the history of college education in America.

Derek Bok has written an extremely thorough book on American higher education. It's very detailed and contains valuable insights on the complexities of higher education in America. Mr. Bok provides amazingly commentary on important topics such as tuition costs and tenure. These are intricate issues--as with most of the issues facing college administrator.While the book is reasonably well written, the actual text is somewhat readable. The author is capable of going into great detail, but better editing would have made things a bit more understandable.The notes are thorough, and some additional details are provided. However, a bibliography would have been helpful--especially since the books referenced in the notes don't include the publisher.