Access, Opportunity, and Success: Keeping the Promise of Higher Education

(Hardback)

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Description

Behind the hallowed walls of higher education are students who did not grow up expecting to attend college, students who walked through open doors not knowing what to expect on the other side. For some, these open doors became revolving doors, and they simply gave up. For many others, however, there were unexpected successes, successes that included more than academic accomplishments. These people came through the system with an increased sense of self-confidence that empowered them in the world beyond college. This oral history tells the story of the struggles as well as of the triumphs related to the fight for access and high quality in higher education. Thus, it provides a unique look at the past state of higher education, and at the measures that might be taken to improve our future educational system. The book begins with a brief historical overview of what access to higher education looked like before the 20th century. Following chapters tell the actual stories and are organized around four themes: the power of belief in students; access with success; institutional commitment; and effective support systems. Finally, a set of recommendations is provided that will help to keep the doors open for those still wishing to enter. Educators at all levels, graduate students studying higher education, and interested readers in the general public will all find this book an invaluable resource.

Reviews

The central question of this book is, can colleges provide both access and standards of excellence Casazza, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Louis-National University in Chicago, opens with a history of increasing access to American colleges since the early 18th century. Interviews with students, developmental education faculty, and college administrators provide a discussion of what is necessary to help students succeed in achieving their academic goals. The chapters are organized around four themes that emerge from the interviews: the power of belief in students, the struggle to provide both access and adherence to standards, the importance of institutional commitment, and the need for a broad range of services that support the whole student. Several interviewees distinguish carefully between remedial and developmental education, indicating that the former emphasizes the right to fail, while the latter focuses on the opportunity to succeed. Several also stress the importance of integrating the learning of skills and strategies with academic studies. The book concludes with a set of five recommendations with action steps. Underlying everything is a student-centered view of education that emphasizes helping all students to meet their goals, and a conviction that developmental education concepts are applicable to all educational institutions. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through practitioners. * Choice *
[A]dressed to everyone who interacts with underprepared students and is designed to encourage efforts to enhance these students' opportunities for success in college and beyond.[t]he authors, through interviews, cover an impressive array of topics related to access and student support, and some meritorious points repeatedly arise.[t]he major benefit of reading this highly recommended book might be having one's faith restored regarding the importance of open access and holistic support systems to ensure success for all students. * The Learning Assistance Review *
Casazza and Bauer present an oral history of the experiences of students, educators, and administrators who aided students who were underprepared for college. Organized around themes--belief in students, struggle for access, commitment, and support systems--each section has numerous stories drawn from interviews with the authors. The first chapter summarizes the history of education prior to the twentieth century, and the book concludes with recommendations for continuing to help students. * Reference & Research Book News *

Author Bio

Martha E. Casazza is Dean at the College of Arts and Sciences at Louis-National University in Chicago and co-author of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education: A Guide for Effective Practice (1966) and Learning and Development (2000). She served as President of the National College Learning Center Association for Developmental Education, is currently on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Developmental Education. and received the Hunter R. Boylan Outstanding Research Research/Publication Award. Laura Bauer is the Blended Program Director in the Department of Adult and Continuing Literacy Education. She also directs the Undergraduate Developmental Studies Program. Dr. Bauer was selected as one of two featured developmental educators in the PBS/Starlink Broadcast, Developmental Education: Policy and Pedagogy. She is working on a text book, Reading for College, Reading for Life, with Linda Sweeney, for Bedford/St. Martin Press.