The State of Higher Education in America

In May 1892, The Atlantic Monthly published an article of clear concern to the magazine’s readership: transformative changes in the admissions requirements for Harvard College. Harvard had dropped its 200-year-old requirement of studying Greek and Latin, and now allowed applicants the option of proving their fluency in “modern languages” like Spanish and French. As author James Jay Greenough reported, many thought that Harvard had “lowered her standards” and “made it easier to enter her doors.”
The Atlantic article is a reminder of just how long Harvard has served as an exemplar of American higher education. Over time, “the Harvard Model” would become shorthand for an academically ambitious, intellectually comprehensive institution of higher education.
At first glance, the outlook seems far worse now than in Greenough’s time. The cost of college has increased drastically; financial aid policies have failed to fill the gap and reforms have not saved the day. Yet many students gain little for the high cost, as high schools have often been unsuccessful at the task of preparing their students for college. One might hope for government-led reform, but gridlock in Washington has stalled efforts to provide citizenship to undocumented college students, despite broad support for the measure.
In his day, Greenough dismissed the contention that any change at Harvard was for the worse.  Today, likewise, complaints about loosened standards and grade inflation are probably overblown. Indeed, the modern university is in many ways at the point of reinvention. For example, carefully implemented class-based affirmative action policies can introduce new forms of diversity into the university environment.
Some changes are needed, of course, to bring the American university into the 21st century. The tenure system, public-university funding, and university curricula must reinvent themselves in order to stay true to their roots. For examples of failed reinvention, one might point to single-sex institutions that are looking for new relevance.
Ultimately, Greenough ended his article with an optimistic assessment: “Every subject enlarges the student’s mind, and stores this enlarged mind with knowledge. Surely such a requirement as this is a good foundation for a liberal education.” Today, when more students are looking beyond the liberal arts, one might quibble over that last phrase of Greenough’s. But the broader implication remains. Harvard has certainly changed over the past 118 years, but the system of higher education, designed to “enlarge the student’s mind,” still has to be at the foundation of American society.
Chris Danello ‘12 is the Covers Editor.