People are standing in line to enter college. The economy has boomed so that most states are putting money back into higher education. Endowments and annual giving at many institutions have provided a fiscal freedom barely conceivable 20 years ago. College graduates are getting jobs. Still, certain characteristics of American higher education lend themselves to the reform and improvement of teaching and learning.
Higher education is both market competitive and relatively autonomous.
Its competitiveness means that colleges and universities are sensitive to market demands and that parents, students, and other constituencies can play an important role in demanding quality teaching and learning. Higher education's relative autonomy means that institutional leaders have an opportunity to work on teaching and learning long enough to install real reforms. The need is to weave together the incremental changes that have occurred in assessment and teaching practices into a pattern of systemic reform. If enough incremental changes are woven together, perhaps one day institutional prestige in higher education will be based on teaching and learning, not just on resources and research. The findings and opinions expressed in this report do not reflect the position or policies of OERI or the Department of Education.