Toward Universal Higher Education, Maybe

摘要

The Obama administration has proposed a reform of elementary and secondary education, with the intention to prepare all or most students to succeed in a 2-year or 4-year college. The proposal for universal higher education is bold, but it does not address some important issues intrinsic to sending a large, socioeco-nomically diverse population to college. What will the impact be on all levels of education? How will we pay for expansion of the postsecondary sector? Before we address these questions, we will briefly describe the movement in our country from higher education for the few to proposals for higher education for everyone. The most recent proposal follows a long record of progress in our country from elite to mass to universal public education.