"For nearly two decades, pundits have been predicting the demise of higher education in the United States. Our colleges and universities will soon find themselves competing for students with universities from around the world. With the advent of massive open online courses ("MOOCS") over the past two years, predictions that higher education will be the next industry to undergo "disruption" have become more frequent and fervent. Currently a university's...

"This book argues that the current conversation about affirmative action and college admissions omits a key dimension: the conditions of racial inequality that students and their families experience from early childhood through high school, and which continue throughout postsecondary education. The moment of matriculation is part of a much longer process that begins in homes, schools, and communities, which prepares some students well and leaves others...

Higher education in America, still thought to be the world leader, is in crisis. University students are falling behind their international peers in attainment, while suffering from unprecedented student debt. For over a decade, the realm of American higher education has been wracked with self-doubt and mutual recrimination, with no clear solutions on the horizon. How did this happen? In this stunning new book, Christopher Newfield offers readers...