BRIEF HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE US – LOUISE HAINLINE, FOR MACAULAY SEMINAR 4, 2/16

THE COLONIAL PERIOD The “Oxbridge” Model:

Refers to the system of higher education put into place by Oxford and Cambridge

Both were English universities that developed a formal system of endowed colleges that combined living and learning within quadrangles

The college was an isolated, “total” institution whose responsibilities included guiding both the social and academic dimensions of undergraduate life

It was this model that influenced college builders in the New World starting in the 17th century

COLONIAL PERIOD (CONT’D) The American colonists built colleges because

they and wished to transplant and perfect the English idea of education as a civilizing experience that ensured a progression of responsible leaders for both church and state.

The early colleges were designed to train the clergy and wanted to educate children in the faith (mostly Congregational, English Anglican or Puritanism)

The colleges were considered a ministry vital to the community

STUDENTS? The earliest students were

Sons of wealthy land owners planning for the ministry

Had to read/write Latin and Greek, translate the classics

Were white men generally younger than age 21

Were not particularly focused on the credential of a degree

Many did not attend for more than a few years

CHARACTERISTICS OF EARLY COLLEGE LIFE

A majority of institutions had ties to religious denonimations

Most college presidents were men of the cloth (i.e., ministers)

There was some tension between faculty and students, with complaints by students about food, lodging, and the curriculum

The policy of in loco parentis put the faculty in the role of parents in supervising student conduct and moral development

HARVARD WAS THE FIRST 1633 John Elliot proposed the

establishment of what was to become Harvard College

In 1636, New College was founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

In 1638, John Harvard, a minister, on his death donated personal land, half his estate, and an a library of 400 books. In response, the New College was renamed Harvard College for him.

AFTER HARVARD… The College of William and Mary (1693).

William and Mary were two cousins who ruled England from 1691. They granted a royal charter for the 2nd colonial college

Structured after Queen’s College in Oxford Had philosophy and divinity school, as well as

a school for native Americans Some students paid tuition, some were

supported with financial aid from tobacco taxes

MORE AFTER HARVARD Collegiate School in CT became Yale in 1701 College of NJ at Princeton, charted by King George

III in 1746 – broke from the strongly religious mold, as they admitted persons of nay denomination (as long as they were prosperous white males)

College of Philadelphia, first non-church school, founded by B. Franklin for a “broad practical kind of education”, changed to the U. Pennsylvania in 1755

1754, Columbia founded

MORE COLONIAL COLLEGES 1764 Rhode Island College, founded as

Baptist, changed its name to Brown after a primary donor

1766 Queens College, later Rutgers 1769 last colonial college, Dartmouth Much social and political turmoil, as England

tightened control 1776, Colonies declared independence Colleges began to move away from the church

POST COLONIAL PERIOD More colleges were formed in the other

colonies, both north and south. After 1800, private colleges began to have

financial difficulties. Students saw higher education as a means

to worldly advancement than spiritual salvation

Attendance tended to ratify social standing rather than provide social mobility

AFTER 1800 1819 University of Virginia, the first

state-controlled university, founded by T. Jefferson to “diffuse and advance” secular knowledge

In the south, the Civil War led to a depletion of students and faculty and physical damage to many colleges

Provided opportunities to initiate new higher education programs

THE NATIONAL AND CIVIL WAR PERIOD Saw the introduction of extracurricular activities, a shift

in socioeconomic status of students, introduction of women and African Americans into higher education

1862 – Under President Lincoln, the 1st Morrill Land Grant Act provided: Federal support in every state for agriculture, home economics

& mechanical arts and other practical occupation, helping to shift curriculum from classical to more applied studies

public lands - 30,000 acres for each senator & rep. Funds must be put in endowment at 5% interest if not used in 5 yrs, returned to federal govt.

1890 - 2nd Morrill Land Grant Act provided regular (ongoing) federal appropriations

CHANGES A wider range of socioeconomic status for students - “paupers to

scholars” First-generation college students came from farming families, many

older than usual 17-21 years Led to formation of charitable trusts and scholarships to help colleges

provide financial support to these students Women became formal participants by the mid-nineteenth century, with

“female academies” created, including home economics, science, mathematics, foreign languages and composition.

By 1860’s and 1870’s, many of these female academies or seminaries became degree-granting colleges, but there were no co-educational colleges at this time.

Between 1985 and 1910, provisions were made for African Americans to pursue higher education

Land grant act of 1890 provided funding for black colleges with studies in agriculture and mechanical arts, with additional funding from churches, Northern philanthropic groups, and states

THE RISE OF THE UNIVERSITY Between 1870 and 1910, there was a dramatic

“university movement” that involved: Annexation of professional schools such as

medicine, law, business, theology, pharmacy and engineering

Creation of extracurricular activities – athletics, fraternities and sororities, campus newspapers and other clubs

Beginning of organized alumni associations First junior college, Joliet College, was founded

as the first 2-year college

GRADATE SCHOOLS 1861 – Yale University awarded the 1st Ph.D., but a

formal program was not established until 1872 1872 Harvard began the Graduate School of Arts

& Sciences Johns Hopkins set out to be a premier graduate

school based on a German model, hiring foremost scholars, only top-notch students accepted

U. Chicago followed the Hopkins model The focus was primarily, as in the German model,

on research, not teaching

AFTER WORLD WAR I: 1915-1945 Beginning in the 1920’s, institutions enjoyed the

luxury of choice There began to be more applicants than spots This led to the creation and refinement of the

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Enrollment rose during the Great Depression due

to lack of employment opportunities Community colleges expanded and began to

focus on job-training to address high rates of unemployment, not simply liberal arts subjects

Diversity was still an issue and discrimination existed for minority groups and women

THE “GOLDEN AGE” – 1945-1970 Saw an academic revolution in which colleges and

universities acquired unprecedented influence in American society

At the end of WWII, the GI Bill gave federal scholarships for post-secondary education for returning war veterans and enrollment boomed

It set precedent for making portable government student aid an entitlement and provided a tool to make American Higher education more diverse

The higher education system was not prepared to absorb all these new students.

THE TRUMAN COMMISSION In 1947, Truman authorized a report to expand access and affordability to higher

education, to make free higher education

The report proposed sweeping changes in higher education: the abandonment of European concepts of education and the development of a

curriculum attuned to the needs of a democracy; the doubling of college attendance by 1960; the integration of vocational and liberal education; the extension of free public education through the first 2 years of college for all

youth who can profit from such education; the elimination of racial and religious discrimination; revision of the goals of graduate and professional school education to make them

effective in training well-rounded persons as well as research specialists and technicians;

and the expansion of Federal support for higher education through scholarships, fellowships, and general aid.

Also proposed were: establishment of a national network of community colleges; the expansion of adult education programs; and the distribution of Federal aid to education in such a manner that the poorer States can bring their educational systems closer to the quality of the wealthier States.

1950’S AND 1960’S By the 1950’s, the great growth of the 1940’s

subsided and the situation was stagnant Some top schools set quotas for Jews and other

“outsider” groups In the 1960’s, there was again a huge increase in

the number of colleges and students The rise of the “Multiversity” consisting of a

flagship campus with advanced degree programs and tens of thousands of students

Budgets relied on “soft money”, research funding by the Federal government and private sources

THE 1960’S – THE DOWNSIDE OF EXPANSION

Students began to complain about large lecture classes, impersonal administration, crowded student housing, and psychological distance between faculty and students

Growing student concern over political and social events (the Vietnam war, the draft, the Civil Rights movement)

By 1970, media depicted the American campus as a battleground in a generational war between college students and established institutions of society (Kent State, campus occupations, protests)

1980’S AND 1990’S– ERA OF ADJUSTMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY

Introduction of more financial aid opportunities by the Federal Government

Entitlements for student aid Basic Educational Opportunity grants (BEOG) Supplement Educational Opportunity Grants (later known as

Pell grants) Enrollment declines for traditional male students

were answered by recruitment of older students, women and minorities

Led to continued rise in diversity including women, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asians

RECENT DECADES End of Post WWII expansion and growth Facing significant financial hardships Enrollment Downsizing, rightsizing, fiscal

constraints, faculty productivity, new buzzwords

Research universities criticized for esoteric research, lack of attention to teaching and the undergraduate curriculum

THE BEGINNING OF 21ST CENTURY Between 1990 and 2000, most colleges and universities

were prosperous and had high enrollments Public universities began to be severely stressed by

consistent reductions in state funding Tuitions soared at private colleges Concerns about college costs began to escalate as costs

began to exceed inflation and student debt increased markedly

Growth in student services and administration accounted for a high proportion of the increased costs

Enrollment of women increased as enrollment by men began to fall off

WHERE ARE WE NOW? Renewed emphasis on teaching and learning

process More diverse student body Wider range of reasons for enrolling in college Continued growth in the Community College

sector as more students with less high school preparation attempt college

Concern about remaking higher education as a means of improving outcomes and controlling costs