INTRODUCTION
Part I The Context
CHAPTER ONE THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION
CHAPTER TWO PURPOSES, GOALS, AND LIMITS TO GROWTH
CHAPTER THREE THE GOVERNANCE OF NONPROFIT UNIVERSITIES

Part II Undergraduate Education
CHAPTER FOUR GOING TO COLLEGE AND EARNING A DEGREE
CHAPTER FIVE PAYING FOR COLLEGE: THE CHALLENGE FOR POLICY-MAKERS AND ACADEMIC LEADERS
CHAPTER SIX ENTERING THE RIGHT COLLEGE
CHAPTER SEVEN THE EXPANDING AUDIENCE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
CHAPTER EIGHT WHAT TO LEARN
CHAPTER NINE HOW TO TEACH
CHAPTER TEN PROSPECTS FOR REFORM
CHAPTER ELEVEN GRADUATE EDUCATION

Part III Professional Education
CHAPTER TWELVE MEDICAL SCHOOLS
CHAPTER THIRTEEN LAW SCHOOLS
CHAPTER FOURTEEN BUSINESS SCHOOLS

Part IV Research
CHAPTER FIFTEEN “PUBLISH OR PERISH”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN THE CHANGING NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN THE ENVIRONMENT FOR RESEARCH

Part V A Final Reckoning
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN MATTERS OF GENUINE CONCERN
THE LAST WORD

Higher Education in Americais a landmark work--a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the current condition of our colleges and universities from former Harvard president Derek Bok, one of the nation's most respected education experts. Sweepingly ambitious in scope, this is a deeply informed and balanced assessment of the many strengths as well as the weaknesses of American higher education today. At a time when colleges and universities have never been more important to the lives and opportunities of students or to the progress and prosperity of the nation, Bok provides a thorough examination of the entire system, public and private, from community colleges and small liberal arts colleges to great universities with their research programs and their medical, law, and business schools. Drawing on the most reliable studies and data, he determines which criticisms of higher education are unfounded or exaggerated, which are issues of genuine concern, and what can be done to improve matters.