The Shaping of American Higher Education

An updated analysis of the forces shaping contemporary higher education in America

Combining historical perspective with in-depth coverage of current events, The Shaping of American Higher Education offers an authoritative account of the past, present, and future of higher education in the United States. Readers will gain a thorough understanding of trends in student access and equity, faculty professionalization, curricular expansion, institutional growth, college administration and governance, public and private funding, outcomes, and accountability.

Much has happened in American higher education since the 2nd edition of this text was published in 2009. This streamlined new edition discusses contemporary colleges and universities within a broader societal context characterized by political polarization, social fragmentation, and distrust of government and public institutions, and illustrates how twenty-first century institutions are grappling with issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice; responding to decades of state and local disinvestment by engaging in public-private partnerships and other entrepreneurial ventures; and shedding historical precedents to educate and train learners in new ways. The book concludes with predictions for the future and an analysis of the challenges and opportunities that await higher education leaders, faculty, students, and policymakers. Readers of The Shaping of American Higher Education will:

• Gain an awareness of how history has shaped—and has been shaped by—institutions of higher education
• Develop an in-depth understanding of current issues in colleges and universities, including student activism and free speech; declining numbers of full-time and tenured faculty; equity-driven approaches to teaching and learning; new pathways to degrees and non-degree credentials; increasingly complex governance and administrative structures; entrepreneurial approaches to revenue generation and fiscal sustainability; and heightened pressures for student and institutional accountability.
• Benefit from a comprehensive analysis of how American higher education has evolved from the first colonial colleges to a complex system of liberal arts colleges, research universities, broad-access and Minority-Serving Institutions, community colleges, and for-profit institutions

The Shaping of American Higher Education is required reading for higher education administrators, faculty, scholars, and policymakers and makes an excellent textbook for use in graduate and undergraduate courses on higher education.

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

About the Authors xvii

Introduction: A Framework for Studying the History of Higher Education 1

1 Establishing the Collegiate Form in the Colonies: 1636–1789 13

2 Diffusion of Small Colleges in the Emergent Nation: 1790–1869 57

3 University Transformation as the Nation Industrializes: 1870–1944 105

4 Mass Higher Education in the Era of American Hegemony: 1945–1975 187

5 Maintaining the Diverse System in an Era of Consolidation: 1976–1993 305

6 Equity, Accountability, Distrust, and Disinvestment in the Contemporary Era: 1994–2023 425

References 605

Name Index 639

Subject Index 645

CARRIE B. KISKER is president of Kisker Education Consulting and leads the Center for the Study of Community Colleges.

ARTHUR M. COHEN was professor of higher education at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1964 to 2004.

Praise for THE SHAPING OF AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION, THIRD EDITION

“The Shaping of American Higher Education, Third Edition, could not have come at a better time for faculty, staff, and students. Kisker expertly weaves American higher education’s nuanced history with the contemporary challenges that will no doubt shape its future.”
— Dr. Ashley Finley, Vice President of Research and Senior Advisor to the President, AAC&U

“An outstanding achievement. If you want to understand how American higher education works, and how it has worked and changed over time, read this book. Required reading for students and leaders of higher education and for all those who wish to truly understand our nation’s colleges and universities.”
—Jeremy C. Young, Program Director, Freedom to Learn, PEN America

“Carrie Kisker’s new edition of The Shaping of American Higher Education enhances this classic’s long tradition of exceptional scholarship, clear presentation, and comprehensive coverage, and further confirms this work as essential reading for an understanding of the complicated trajectory of a fundamental American enterprise.”
—Dr. John V. Lombardi, President Emeritus, University of Florida

“In The Shaping of American Higher Education, Third Edition, Carrie Kisker honors Arthur Cohen’s legacy by showing us the antecedents of modern higher education and extends the work into a thorough and highly relevant discussion of profound change in the contemporary era. This volume is for intellectually curious scholars, leaders, and learners seeking historical insights and nuanced understanding of where we have been in order to advance higher education’s future.”
— Dr. Mark M. D’Amico, Professor of Higher Education, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte