Highly specialized education is no longer relevant to the needs of our diversified society. A return to a broad, general education curriculum is needed. (HS)

The programs that will become the chief medium for giving women's studies a permanent place in the academic world are those in which scholars with other intellectual affiliations and interests work simultaneously (1) to develop women's studies and (2) to integrate its materials into the long-established university department. (MLW)

The designation of "liberal" as the educational path toward a person's cultural completeness has given way to use of that term in contexts implying freedom for personal exploration of all kinds. The primary functions of the liberal education institution have become sidetracked by consumerism. (MLW)

A modestly financed, vigorously administered program of international studies at Emory University is described. The Emory Program in International Studies offers undergraduate courses (but no degree), sponsors lectures and programs, provides summer stipends for faculty to develop new courses, and publishes a monthly newsletter. (MLW)

Multiculturalism is the best approach to helping higher education in the United States make the most of recent demographic changes. Multicultural curricular reform is the cornerstone to successful multicultural education. Isolationism by discipline, interest, or ethnic group, when temporary, is not intrinsically wrong but should be balanced with…

The loose smorgasbord distribution requirements and free electives of the '60s, have given way to more proscribed requirements and core programs. General education is a response to a need to reaffirm the connectedness among people. The agenda for general education is to teach those common experiences, relationships, and ethical concerns. (MLW)

The experience of a University of Rhode Island department in developing a new curriculum illustrates the difficulty of accomplishing meaningful change in the context of institutional regulations, divergent faculty priorities, institutional needs, and department politics. It is concluded that a new curriculum is not necessarily an effective change…

College and university investments in information technology should focus on content, curriculum, and communication, not productivity. In addition, expectations about how technology can benefit higher education should be realistic; there is much to be learned about the appropriate use of technological innovation. (MSE)

The quality of U.S. higher education as described in three early nineteenth century reports are reviewed and compared with similar recent reports in substance and approach. (MSE)

The history of undergraduate teaching in the United States is discussed in an attempt to determine whether the curriculum is now in a period of crisis. The most crucial ingredient in the excellence of higher education may be the admissions policies and the quality of the faculty teaching available courses. (MLW)

How best to organize the university in the interest of global awareness and ways in which existing and potential capabilities for international studies can be translated into reality are discussed. The world view, global awareness, and the international dimension, it is suggested, must grow out of a perceived need. (MLW)

Analysis of curriculum, enrollment, and faculty data from four private liberal arts colleges and two private research universities investigates the most cost-effective curriculum design, using simulation models. It is concluded that simpler college curricula, with fewer courses, less specialization, and more consolidation will yield smaller, less…

Recent books presenting the neoconservative criticism of higher education are reviewed including books by Allan Bloom, Charles Sykes, Jacques Barzun, Peter Shaw, Roger Kimball, and Thomas Short. Common assumptions include the worsening of American education resulting from warped curriculum reform and distorted performance standards. Agreement with…

Some national initiatives taken by the Department of Education to demonstrate its commitment to international education are discussed. What is needed is a conscious effort to overhaul the educational experience by taking a fresh look at existing curricular offerings, at textbooks, at syllabi, and at the quality of language teaching. (MLW)

A sampling of projects resulting from the Sloan Foundation's program of grants to encourage a central place for quantitative reasoning and technology in the college curriculum is presented. (MSE)