Early Postsecondary Education in the
American Colonies
1701:
1701: Three
Three colleges:
colleges:
•• Harvard
Harvard (1636)
(1636)
•• William
William And
And Mary
Mary (1693)
(1693)
•• Collegiate
Collegiate School
School in
in Connecticut
Connecticut (1701)
(1701)
--- renamed
renamed Yale
Yale in
in 1718
1718
Early Postsecondary Education in the
American Colonies
1776:
1776: Nine
Nine colleges
colleges
2,500
2,500 college
college graduates
graduates in
in all
all of
of the
the
colonies
colonies (<
(< 0.1%
0.1% of
of entire
entire colonial
colonial
population)
population)
Of
Declaration of
of
Of 89
89 signers
signers of
of the
the Declaration
Independence
Independence,, 39
39 were
were graduates
graduates of
of
these
these colleges
colleges
1
Madame de Staël
George Ticknor
Madame de Staël
2
George Ticknor
Edward Everett
Madame de Staël
Morrill Land Grant Act
July 2, 1862
“without excluding other scientific
and classical studies and
including military tactic, to teach
such branches of learning as are
related to agriculture and the
mechanic arts…
arts… in order to
promote the liberal and practical
education of the industrial
classes in the several pursuits
and professions in life.”
life.”
Justin Smith Morrill
Strafford, Vermont
April 14, 1810 - December 28, 1898
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“B.A.” Curriculum
Harvard College ca. 1850
ƒ Completely prescribed course of study.
Subjects of all lectures known at time of entry.
No free electives.
ƒ Curriculum largely based on organization of
philosophy according to Aristotle.
ƒ President of the College delivers the last set of
lectures as a “capstone course” just prior to
graduation.
Charles W. Eliot (1834 ‐ 1926)
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“B.A.” Curriculum
Harvard University ca. 1900
ƒ Academic Freedom: “Lernfreiheit”
ƒ Just one requirement: A course in Rhetoric
ƒ “Free Electives” Students can choose any course
from the listing of courses offered by the faculty
“B.A.” Curriculum
Harvard University ca. 1915
ƒ Limited free choice of courses constrained by
defined categories.
ƒ Courses distributed among Humanities, Social
Sciences, and Natural Sciences.
ƒ One academic discipline must be studied “in
depth,” the academic major.
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Development of the elements of General
Education in the “B.A.” and “B.S.”
curricula of U.S. colleges
• ca. 1850: practically the entire curriculum is devoted to General
Education
• ca. 1900: General Education is hardly anywhere to be seen in the
curriculum
• ca. 1925: Columbia University requires all students to take the “Course
on Contemporary Civilization.” Course was developed during
World War I, was immensely popular, and requested by students
to continue
• ca. 1945: Harvard University publishes “General Education in a Free
Society,” developed during World War II. Famous as
**The Redbook**
Since 1950, the typical curriculum offered to students
seeking a “B.A.” or “B.S.” degree at a
U.S. college or university.
Academic
Major
(arising from
American
pragmatism, that at
least one subject
should be studied in
depth)
One Third
One Third
One Third
General
Education
•Artes liberales
•The Liberal Arts
(arising from the
colonial English
colleges, reaching back
to the Middle Ages)
Free Electives
•Lernfreiheit
(arising from the German University,
through the Humboldtian tradition of
academic freedom)
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DISTRIBUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS BY 2000 CARNEGIE CLASSIFICATION
CATEGORY
DISTRIBUTION
NUMBER OF INSTITUTIONS
Total
PERCENTAGE
3,941
100.0
Doctoral/Research Universities
Doctoral/Research Universities—Extensive
Doctoral/Research Universities—Intensive
261
151
110
6.6
3.8
2.8
Master’s Colleges and Universities
Master’s Colleges and Universities I
Master’s Colleges and Universities II
611
496
115
15.5
12.6
2.9
Baccalaureate Colleges
Baccalaureate Colleges—Liberal Arts
Baccalaureate Colleges—General
Baccalaureate/Associate’s Colleges
606
228
321
57
Associate’s Colleges
Specialized Institutions
Theological seminaries and other specialized
faith-related institutions
Medical schools and medical centers
Other separate health profession schools
Schools of engineering and technology
Schools of business and management
Schools of art, music, and design
Schools of law
Teachers colleges
Other specialized institutions
15.4
5.8
8.1
1.4
1,669
42.3
766
19.4
312
54
97
66
49
87
25
6
70
Tribal Colleges and Universities
28
7.9
1.4
2.5
1.7
1.2
2.2
0.6
0.2
1.8
0.7
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Current Basic Carnegie Matrix, 2009
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QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Example of Table from Current Carnegie Classification
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