International Higher Education, Winter 2000

New Publications

This column is intended to keep our readers aware of current publications in the field of higher education. We provide a brief description of the listing and indicate the address of the publisher or distributor so that items may be easily obtained. While the preponderance of material listed here is published in the United States or other industrialized nations, we will try to list books published in other parts of the world as well.

Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States: Continuity and Change., edited by Martin L. Goldberger, Brendan A. Maher, and Pamela Ebert Flattau. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1995. 740 pages. $59.95. ISBN 0-309-05094-4. Address: National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington D.C. 20418.

This volume is one of the most influential studies of American higher education to appear in the past decade. It reports a national study of the quality of doctoral programs in the main academic disciplines in the United States. It also ranks doctoral programs by discipline nationally. Many universities will look to this study as a "benchmark" for their accomplishments. Faculty and students seeking information concerning academic programs and specialities will find this study useful. It is also of more central importance since it provides a perspective on the direction of the academic disciplines. While the bulk of attention is naturally on the rankings, this study is also important because of its general perspectives and recommendations and its methodological orientation. This study will no doubt be adapted in other countries as the need for the evaluation of academic programs becomes stronger. (PGA)

The Indian University System: Revitalization and Reform, edited by M. V. Mathur, Ramesh K. Arora and Meena Sogani. New Delhi, India: Wiley Eastern Ltd., 1994. 472 pages. Rs. 480. ISBN 81-224-0602-5. Address: 4835/24 Ansari Rd., Daryagani, New Delhi 110 002, India.

This volume consists of 35 essays on various aspects of higher education in India. Its comprehensiveness permits the reader to obtain a well-rounded perspective on the contemporary university. Among the topics considered are university management, the role of the vice chancellor, trends in academic administration, fiscal issues, examination reform, and university-community interaction, and others. The essays are short and thus are rather general, so the book lacks a thorough analytic focus. (PGA)

The Challenge and Promise of a Catholic University, edited by Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. Notre Dame, Indiana: Notre Dame University Press, 1994. 381 pages. ISBN 0-268-00803-5 (paperback). Address: Notre Dame University Press, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

Theodore Hesburgh, the dean of American Catholic higher education leaders and president emeritus of Notre Dame University, has edited a book that focuses on the role of the Catholic university in modern society. All of the authors are members of the Notre Dame faculty. The topics considered include the role of professional education in a Catholic university, academic freedom, and Catholic higher education, and related topics. While many of the chapters relate directly to Notre Dame, the topics are of general relevance to Catholic higher education. (PGA)

Improvement and Accountability: Navigating Between Scylla and Charybidis, by A. I. Vroeijenstijn. London, England: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1995. 188 pages. ISBN 1-85302-546-1. Address: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 116 Pentonville Rd., London N1 9JB, England.

The issues of quality, autonomy, accountability and evaluation in higher education are important worldwide. This book discusses in detail external quality assessment (EQA), using the Netherlands as a case study. The author discusses the relationship of EQA to academic autonomy and related issues. A detailed guide to the implementation of EQA is provided. (PGA)

Strategies for Internationalisation of Higher Education: A Comparaitve Study of Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States, edited by Hans deWit. Amsterdam: European Association for International Education, 1995. 175 pages. 45 Dutch guilders, plus 15 guilders shipping. ISBN 90-74721-04-4. Address: EAIE Secretariat, Van Diemenstraat 344, 1013 CR Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The first comparative analysis of the strategic approaches to the internationalization of higher education, the book presents the historical background to the internationalization of higher education, with case studies from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. Individual European nations are not considered. The European focus is on the programs of the European Union. This volume offers a wealth of detail concerning the internationalization efforts in the countries considered. (PGA)

The Academic Man: A Study in the Sociology of a Profession, by Logan Wilson. With a new introduction by Philip G. Altbach. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1995. 248 pages. ISBN 1-56000-810-5. Paperback. Address: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08903.

The first full-scale, social scienceÜbased study of the academic profession, this American work is a classic. The author looks at professorial attitudes toward administration, professional responsibilities and status, the process of graduate education, and others. Although written in 1942, this study has valuable insights for the contemporary period. A new introductory essay links the study with current developments in American higher education. (PGA)

The Higher Learning in America, by Robert Maynard Hutchins (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1995), 119 pages. ISBN 1-56000-808-3, Paperback. Address: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08903.

This book, originally published in 1936, is a classic in the literature on higher education. Hutchins argues that general education and the disciplined study of classic texts should be the central element of undergraduate education in the United States. The reforms that he instituted at the University of Chicago exemplified this approach. This book is part of a series that has reprinted many of the classic studies of higher education, including books by Thorstein Veblen, Abraham Flexner, and Joseph Ben-David. (PGA)