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Mission Diversity and the Tension between Prestige and Effectiveness: An Overview of US Higher Education

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Abstract

Higher education in the US has long prized mission diversity as illustrated in the range of its colleges and universities including community colleges, baccalaureate (or liberal arts) colleges, doctoral-granting universities, and special-focus institutions, as well as its public, private non-profit, and private for-profit forms of control. This paper outlines some of the elements that contribute to US mission diversity, including long-held beliefs and facilitating structures. It then identifies some key trends currently affecting mission diversity with specific attention to the rise of market forces and shifting state policy. The result is a growing tension between institutional effectiveness and prestige that must be resolved. The paper concludes by offering suggestions to maintaining mission diversity within a dynamic market-driven environment.

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Notes

  1. This paper was presented at the Diversity of Missions Conference, Dublin, Ireland, June 2007. I thank Jeroen Huisman of the University of Bath, Ellen Hazelkorn of the Dublin Institute of Technology, David Ward, Jaci King, and Bryan Cook all of ACE, and Christopher Morphew of the University of Georgia for their helpful comments, contributions and suggestions.

  2. Additional descriptions and further detail regarding the classification system of US higher education can be found via the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/index.asp).

  3. Analysis of US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Finance Survey, 2005 conducted by ACE's Center for Policy Analysis.

  4. Six regional accrediting organizations exist — the Middle States Commission on Higher Education; New England Association of Schools and Colleges; The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools; Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities; Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; and Western Association of Schools and Colleges. (Council on Higher Education website: http://www.chea.org/pdf/CHEA_USDE_AllAccred.pdf obtained 5.14.07).

  5. The US has national accreditation as well. However, that type of accreditation typically reviews the quality of non-degree granting, for-profit institutions.

  6. The role of the federal government in accreditation is (or has been) indirect in that the US Department of Education recognizes accrediting organizations through a periodic review process that ensures that the accrediting agency has a robust review process and maintains threshold criteria in key areas (Eaton, 2006).

  7. Analysis of IPEDS data by ACE's Center for Policy Analysis.

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  1. American Council on Education, One Dupont Circle NW, Washington, DC, 20036-1193, USA

    Peter D Eckel

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Eckel, P. Mission Diversity and the Tension between Prestige and Effectiveness: An Overview of US Higher Education. High Educ Policy 21, 175–192 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/hep.2008.2

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