History of Higher Education and the evolution of the Student Affairs Profession

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History of Higher Education and the evolution of
the Student Affairs Profession

• A Brief Look

Presented by Lori Burns
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The Colonial Period

• The Oxbridge Model
• Refers to the system of higher education put into
  place by Oxford and Cambridge
• Both were English universities that developed a
  formal system of endowed colleges that combined
  living and learning within quadrangles
• The college was an isolated, total institution
  whose responsibilities included guiding both the
  social and academic dimensions of undergraduate
  life
• It was this modeled that influenced college
  builders in the New World

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Colonial Period Cont.

• The American colonist built colleges because they
  believed in and wished to transplant and perfect
  the English idea of an undergraduate education as
  a civilizing experience that ensured a
  progression of responsible leaders for both
  church and state.
• Colonial colleges incorporated a tight connection
  between the college board and its host civil
  government, fostering both responsible oversight
  and a source of government funding from taxes,
  tolls, and lotteries.

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Early Colleges

• Harvard
• Founded in Massachusetts Bay colony in 1636
• The College of William and Mary
• Founded in Virginia in 1693
• Yale
• Founded in Connecticut in 1701

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Characteristics of Early College Life

• A majority of institutions developed
  denominational ties
• Religious concerns and sectarian competition
  often fueled the creation of colonial colleges
• Most college presidents were men of the cloth
• Tension between faculty and students
• In residential colleges complaints would range to
  dissatisfaction with the dining commons to
  dissatisfaction with the curriculum sparking
  riots and revolts from the students
• In loco parentis put the faculty in the
  position of supervising student conduct as well
  as their moral development

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Characteristics of Early College Life

• Enrollment and Completion
• Confined to White males, mostly from established,
  prosperous families
• Attendance tended to ratify or confirm existing
  social standing rather than provide social
  mobility
• There was little emphasis on completing a degree

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The National Period

• Following American Independence in 1776 and
  extending into the mid-nineteenth century
• Time of the Civil War and the Morrill Land Grant
  Act
• Saw the introduction of extracurricular
  activities, a shift in socioeconomic status of
  students, introduction of women and African
  Americans into higher education

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The Civil War

• In the South the Civil War lead to a depletion of
  student and faculty and to physical damage to the
  colleges themselves
• Provided opportunities to initiate new higher
  education programs
• Provided a political opportunity to push through
  legislation that had been stalled
• Morrill Land Grant Act is an example of this
  (Thelin, 2004)

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Morrill Land Grant Act

• Passed in 1862
• Piece of federal legislation that lead to better
  access to higher education
• Originally set up to establish institutions in
  each state to educate people in agriculture, home
  economics, mechanical arts, and other practical
  occupations
• Helped shift curriculum from classical to more
  applied studies

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Extracurricular Activities

• Included literary societies, debating clubs, and
  service groups
• Considered to be the roots of the extensive
  university library of today
• Analysis of extracurricular activities shows that
  students exerted great influence on the life of
  their college and determined which activities and
  values were emphasized

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Changing of the Student Body

• A change in the socioeconomic make up of students
  occurred
• Students from a wide range of incomes replaced
  the more homogeneous group, referred to as a
  convergence of paupers to scholars
• First-generation college students came from
  farming families, many of which were older than
  the usual 17-21 year olds
• This also led to the formation of charitable
  trusts and scholarship funds to help colleges
  provide financial aid to this group of students

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Changing of the Student Population

• Women became formal participants in higher
  education by the mid-nineteenth century
• Female academies and female seminars were
  created
• These offered a range of courses and
  instructional programs beyond elementary and
  secondary education
• Curricula included home economics as well as
  formal instruction in sciences, mathematics,
  foreign languages, and compositions
• By the 1860s and 1870s many female seminaries
  became degree-granting colleges

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Changing of the Student Population

• Between 1865 and 1910 provisions were made for
  African Americans to pursue higher education
• The Land Grant Act of 1890 provided funding for
  Black colleges offering studies in agriculture
  and mechanical arts
• Other funding for Black colleges came from
  Northern philanthropic groups, Black churches,
  and a mix of federal and state appropriations

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The National Period

• Nearing the end of the nineteenth century there
  were multiple college models ranging from
  comprehensive institutions with diverse student
  bodies to special-purpose colleges serving more
  distinct, specific groups of students

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The Rise of the University

• Between 1870 and 1910 America witnessed a
  dramatic university movement which involved the
  following
• Annexation of professional schools such as
  medicine, law, business, theology, pharmacy, and
  engineering
• Creation of extracurriculars including athletics,
  fraternities, sororities, campus newspapers, and
  other clubs
• Beginning of organized alumni associations

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Higher Education after World War I1915-1945

• Enrollment rose during the Great Depression due
  to lack of employment opportunities
• Beginning in the 1920s institutions enjoyed the
  luxury of choice
• There began to be more applicants than spots open
• This lead to the creation and refinement of the
  Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
• Diversity was still an issue and discrimination
  still existed for minority groups

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The Golden Age1945-1970

• Saw an academic revolution in which colleges and
  universities acquired unprecedented influence in
  American society
• In 1947 Harry S. Truman authorized a report to
  expand the access and affordability to higher
  education
• There was also effective lobbying for the
  expansion of government and foundation sponsored
  research grants for university scholars

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World War II

• Following the declaration of war colleges
  accelerated the progress of students in college
• Military services established cooperative
  on-campus programs for the training of officers,
  pilots, and other specialized personnel (Fincher,
  2001)

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The GI Bill

• The Servicemens Readjustment Act, also known as
  the GI Bill, made federal scholarships for
  postsecondary education available for returning
  war veterans
• It set a precedent for making portable government
  student aid an entitlement
• Provided a policy tool for increasing diversity
  of American universities

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The 1960s

• Rise of the Multiversity
• Consisted of a flagship campus with advanced
  degree programs
• Enrollment often exceeded twenty thousand
  students
• Budget relied on soft money of research and
  development projects funded by the federal
  government and private foundations

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The 1960s

• The Downside to Expansion
• Students began to complain of large lecture
  classes, impersonal registration, crowded student
  housing, and the psychological distance between
  faculty and students caused by booming campuses
• Student concern over external political and
  social events (Vietnam, the draft, Civil Rights)
  sparked the widespread of student activism
• By 1970 national media portrayed the American
  campus as a battleground in a protracted
  generational war between college students and the
  established institutions associated with adult
  society

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Era of Adjustment Accountability1970-1990

• Introduction to more financial aid opportunities
• Federal government introduced large scale
  entitlements for student financial aid
• Basic Educational Opportunity Grants
• Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grants
  (later known as Pell Grants)

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Era of Adjustment Accountability1970-1990

• Continual rise in diversity of students
• Traditional image of Joe College was being
  replaced by
• Women
• Native Americans
• African Americans
• Asian Americans
• Hispanics

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Era of Adjustment Accountability1970-1990

• Uncertainties of campus futures
• Institutions were facing financial hardships in
  the late 70s early 80s
• Enrollment declines were answered by the
  recruitment of older students, women and
  minorities
• By 1990 higher education saw more financial
  hardships with state revenues coming up short
• This prompted educational leaders and critics to
  consider the need for a fundamental shift in
  attitudes towards higher education and the
  collegiate structure in the US.

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From the 20th to the 21st Century1990 - 2001

• Between 1990 2000 most colleges and
  universities were prosperous and had high
  enrollments
• Colleges and student affairs officials still had
  concerns about how to rethink the college campus
  and college experience to acknowledge the
  qualitative and quantitative changes of the
  recent past
• Concerns about rising college cost still persisted

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From the 20th to the 21st Century1990 - 2001

• Student services accounted for a substantial
  portion of the higher costs
• By 2000 the diversity of students helped
  influence the shape and structure of the
  institution
• Women became a decisive majority of student
  enrollments at both private and public
  institutions

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From the 20th to the 21st Century1990 - 2001

• With the rise in diversity of student there was
  also a rise in campus leadership groups
• Tribal Colleges gained autonomy and funding after
  deliberations with federal and state governments
• Distance learning emerged due to technological
  advances

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From the 20th to the 21st Century1990 - 2001

• Student affairs leaders now faced how to embrace
  changes in the national culture while still
  providing a campus experience that will be
  substantive and distinctive

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References

• Fincher, C. (2001). Higher Education in World War
  II. IHE Perspectives , 8.
• Komives, M. F. (2007). Student Services A
  Handbook for the Profession. New York
  Jossey-Bass.
• Lightcap, B. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2008,
  from www.nd.edu/rbarger/www7?morrill.htm
• Thelin, J. R. (2004). A History of American
  Higher Education. JHU Press.