Higher Education For The Millions

Report Outline
Problems in Mass College Attendance
Financing of Higher Education in America
Federal Aid for Colleges and Students

Problems in Mass College Attendance

A great bulge in school enrollment, which began in the first grade shortly after the end of World War II, already has reached the secondary school and in a few years will begin to press on the country's limited facilities for higher education. The manner in which colleges and universities meet the imminent onrush of applicants may have profound effects on the nature, methods of financing, and even the quality of higher education in the United States.

Many of the nearly 1,900 institutions of higher education are casting about for new sources of financial support to enable them to expand their facilities. At the same time, some of the private liberal arts colleges are setting up barriers against unduly expanded enrollments, lest numerical growth lead to a decline in the quality of education and to undesirable changes in the traditional character of the academic community.

Lack of Planning for Influx of New Students

Growth among the young people of the United States of a demand for higher education poses numerous problems not heretofore encountered. One of the fundamental questions to be answered is whether an effort should be made to accommodate all who seek admission to college, or whether some new form of post-high school training should be offered instead to boys and girls who do not show real promise of benefiting from four years in college. Many educators are troubled over the possibility that broadening the base of college enrollment and revising curricula to meet the needs and abilities of larger groups of students may make higher education a kind of vocational adjunct to the secondary school. Others feel that higher education already is overdue for basic reforms to fit it to the changing needs of man and society.