Managing the American University.

International Ioumal of Insrimuonar Managunent 111 Higher Education March 1985 Vol. 9 No. 1 S~12 MANAGING ‘rm-: AMERICAN uurvrartsrnrl David Gardnr: University of California United States The first thing to be said about American higher education is that it is not so much a System as it is a collection of colleges and universities, predicated on the idea that access to higher education for students with the ability to benefit from such an education is an important nfltioml goal. Thus. American higher education consists of many institutions ~ qI013 llq!!! 3 000 — and enrolls 7.4 million full-time and 5.4 million part-time students. These institutions are unatally diverse : there are large research univetslflthfimlll “MN ‘q13 colleges. church-affiliated institutions. vocational schools. Pl°f°“i°“‘1 ’°h°°q q '°q‘° aligned with a university and others not - two-yell ctlllmllfliw ¢0“°S°5- P“w°lYq“P_P°q‘°d and privately supported institutions. As long ago as 1870 the United States had more institu- tions awarding bachelor‘: degrees. more law schools. and more medical schools than all of the countries of Europe cunbined2. _ It hardly needs to be said that these institutions VII‘! 8101'-1)’ in ¢'{|1‘“W- 3“ 313q Vq? Vlriety reflects the national enthusiasm for founding new cdleges or universities to rn.eet.chang~ ing conditions or dis American society. As a consequence. American c unsystanatic way, without any grand de network of colleges and universities different enough to nice differ greatly in both their educational aspirations and their considerable. especially in a pluralistic, large scale, govemrncntally decent! phically dispersed society like the United States. _ A consistent characteristic of American higher education has been the absence of virtually any planning for it by the national government. Even the relative‘! MW F‘d°q“ D°P'qm°'q of Education is concerned primarily with ei schools and high schools — and in any case its func _ national approach either to the schods or to hiflrer education but to see that education 11853 voice in the affairs of government at the Federal level and to administer the relatively few nt financial aid programs. d ' , . tude e ucatron programs sponsored by the Federal government egasn ma mans mdmom anew This arrangement — so surprising to foreiyt visitors — arises . _ control and individual initiative which have been such formative forces In American life 8'39‘ rally. This is not to say that the Federal govammmt that it is one of several actors on the educational scene. The Fedenl E°q°“mq'-“q5 ‘mm occurinthreegeneralareas: has no role in hiflrer education, b1It¢I‘l1Y buttons 5 «______h. tinctive local needs, a tradition with its roots the V81’! b¢9'}flm85 °f » _..:.;:—.~...—...... 1.1- .- _'1-r_- -—_--a»-—... ._. $4..‘ :a;.~;q. '5‘ - rs:-._~ ,