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A Call to Action for Promoting Expanded Access
By James C. Renick
Never before in the history of American higher education
have universities and colleges been called upon to provide leadership in
responding to so many national challenges, from ensuring that our
students acquire higher-order thinking skills to providing solutions for
complex global social and economic problems. The pressure to respond is
increasing and the perfect storm is brewing: Demographic change, erratic
state and federal support, and the need for a better educated workforce
are forcing us to rethink the ways we conduct our business. These
factors may affect individual campuses differently, but they all require
that we accelerate our response to expand access to a larger portion of
the population. Given the centrality of colleges and universities in
shaping America's future, we have the opportunity to fulfill higher
education's promise as the most positive solution to many national and
global issues.
There is growing public awareness and evidence that now,
more than ever before, a postsecondary education leads to a higher
degree of economic, civic, and social participation in society. There
also is a growing realization that earning a two- or four-year degree is
imperative to basic job preparation. In spite of this growing
consciousness, those who desire a degree—particularly the
increasing numbers of low- and middle-income students, many of whom are
first-generation or minorities, and nontraditional students—often
face barriers that they perceive as insurmountable. . . .
Excerpted from the fall 2006 issue of The
Presidency. To subscribe to the magazine, please call (301) 632-6757,
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