In the early 1900s, sociologist and civil-rights activist W.E.B. DuBois advocated the teaching of African-American studies in American schools. The goal was to teach a history and heritage that was being ignored, not just so blacks would better understand their own past, but so white society would be more respectful. But by 1968, when students…

Using data for all Wisconsin school districts over the 2003/04 through 2006/07 school years, we evaluate the state of Wisconsin's Open Enrollment (inter-district transfer) program to determine which school district characteristics influence parental transfer decisions. To our knowledge, this is the first study of school choice in a public school…

This article describes a private, open-enrollment school in Washington state's agricultural valley which typically serves first-generation college-goers who were actually discouraged from seeking higher education. Heritage University, a 1,346-student commuter university, serves a region and a population that other institutions have historically…

This essay analyzes the ways in which subtly but powerfully racist ideologies of language and literacy shaped the institutional development of one writing program for "high-risk" African American college students during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It further theorizes the value of such institutional analysis for counteracting racism…

This article reports on a Texas charter school network which aims to expand the ranks of disadvantaged students who graduate, not just from high school, but from college as well. To earn a high school diploma, each student at YES (short for Youth Engaged in Service) Prep Public Schools, a growing Houston-area network of charters that predominantly…

Explains the City University of New York's reversal of its 1970 Open Admissions Policy and discusses the ramifications of that reversal. (NH)

The battle over open admissions and remedial education at the City University of New York (CUNY) in the 1990s garnered national attention and marked a shift towards greater selectivity in America's public, four-year higher education institutions. After launching open admissions in 1970, CUNY transformed from a majority-White system to one that had…

Articulation agreements have been part of the American educational scene for well over 100 years. Initially implemented as a tool for more effectively and efficiently delivering liberal educations, they became more common as the numbers of community colleges grew during the 1960s and 1970s. During the mid-1980s, the universal education promise of…

Discusses basic writing pioneer Mina Shaughnessy, who advocated for a humanistic approach to writing instruction for disadvantaged students, within the context of the City University of New York's policy of open admissions. (EV)

Students of color are consistently underrepresented in honors and gifted programs nationwide, and even high-achieving students share many of the risk factors with their low-achieving peers. The study presented in this paper employed mixed methods to investigate the relationship between the design of a rigorous college preparatory program, the…

Seven middle-level schools in a large suburban district created an open enrollment system for advanced English and science courses. The advanced courses provided students with an opportunity to learn through the use of primary sources, high-level literature, and a variety of projects. A vertical teaming process in each middle-high school…

Nothing is dearer to community colleges than the belief that they can and should serve all eligible people who seek admittance. For decades, the "open door" community college has been an often-used, much-revered metaphor for equal opportunity in higher education. In this article, the author emphasizes that open access to community colleges is…

Minority access to education is a critical problem in society today. Schools must evaluate their true accessibility to minority students and the level of teachers' inter-linguistic and inter-cultural skills must be raised. Pathways through schools must be created that meet the needs of the learners. (JD)

The view of higher education as a privilege, rather than a right, did not die with open admissions in the City University system. Rather, under pressures of the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, this view has regained its ascendancy as socially advantaged groups struggle to maintain their position. (Author/GC)

Discusses open-door admission policy. Whether students might be admitted to the institution but be blocked from specific programs by tightening criteria is tested by the use of Muller's IQV method designed to compare qualitative variations. Results indicate minority students at Northeastern Illinois University have access to all programs. (Author)