Higher Education Post World War 2 1960

Leah Holder, Ryan Keesee, Jill Matthews, Jacob Wise

Impact of World War II

WWII (1941-1945) depleted Higher Education Budget Issues

Study showed out of 49 Institutions, 37 operated with deficits o Smaller colleges suffered the most o Requests for govt assistance often denied
o

Decrease in capital expenditures

o

Overall construction decreased 70% among 130 teachers colleges

Impact of World War II (cont)

Decline in Enrollment o 78.7% decline from 1939-1945 among 31 private men's institutions Loss of Income o Tuition income dropped from $16 million in 1939, to $12.7 million in 1945. o Losses would have been greater if not for wartime endowments Downsizing o 1,756 institutions registered in fall of 1941 o 1,685 institutions registered in fall of 1944 o Net loss of 71

Societal Context

1945 U.S. Population Students Enrolling Number of Institutions Revenue 139,924,000 1,677,000 1,768 1,169,394

1975 215,465,000 11,185,000 3,004 39,703,166

Societal Context
After the war, the United States became very influential and took measures to grow the economy, such as passing the Employment Act of 1946 which put the responsibility of stabilizing the economy in the government's hands. The efforts were a success and a booming economy lead to an optimistic America, housing expansion into the suburbs, population surge, and disposable income which allowed more people to enroll in college. This era was also an era of social change.

Societal Context
Legislation for Social Change

Racial equality in the armed services - ordered by Truman in 1948

Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 ruled that segregation in education was unequal and illegal. However, the Supreme Court did not specify when educational facilities had to be desegregated. o Florida ex el. Hawkins v. Board of Control extended the Brown v. Board of Education ruling to higher education in 1956. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 - banned gender bias in all education programs and activities; it is now mainly known for limiting certain sports and scholarships

Griggs v. Duke Power in 1972 - level of education requirements for certain jobs must not be used to keep minorities out of jobs and it is unconstitutional to use a certain level of education as a requirement unless it is relevant to the position

Societal Context
Legislation for Social Change Cont'd

On 13 July 1946, President Harry Truman established a Commission on Higher Education whose twenty-eight members were charged with the task of examining the functions of higher education in our democracy and the means to which they can best be performed o The significant feature of this endeavor was that it marked the first time a President of the United States deliberately extended federal inquiry into national wide educational issues. o The Truman Report was controversial because it encouraged federal intrusion into state and local policies, specifically those in regards to racial segregation.

Societal Context

Time of super-patriotism as threats of communism ensue o Soviet Union exploding atomic bomb in 1949 o North Korea invades South Korea - 1950 Armaments race initiated by the Marshall Plan in 1947 which sent aid to Western European nations. o Research for weaponry led to funding going to universities The successful relationship between the military and universities during the war allowed for universities to be relied on for war related research.

Institutions

Growth o Established public schools in the West and Midwest open branch campuses o 500 out of the 600+ public colleges added were community colleges Change o Expansion in public sector caused by increased funding from the state and belief in open access o Private schools affected by years of Depression, inflation, and lack of donations Rise in tuition costs led to drop in enrollment o Single-sex institutions drop by almost 50%

Institutions
Types

Research o Government funding allowed for public sector graduate program expansion and construction of labs and research facilities o UCLA benefitted from enrolling the most veterans after the war and reaped the benefits of tuition coming from the GI Bill. Opened nine branches but to because a world-class research institute it had to drop programs awarding associate degrees o Private sector institutions also became more research focused Stanford began receiving funding from the Department of Defense for electronics

Institutions
Types cont'd

Comprehensive/Regional o Distinguished from research institutions by the type of governance and funding o Offered degrees in many different disciplines with a very small percentage offering doctoral degrees Liberal Arts
Other o Junior Colleges o Community Colleges o For-Profit

Financial Statistics

Increase in Income o $1 billion in 1945 o $35 billion in 1975 Revenue Trends o Greater reliance on government assistance o Decrease in tuition assistance o Decrease in endowments among private institutions Expenditures
o Increased along with revenue o Administrative and general expenses rose 3% from 1945-1975 o New expenses were added during 30-year time frame scholarships, auxiliary services, and hospitals o Capital expenses rose about 9.6% per year until 1975

Financial Legislature

Science-The Endless Frontier (The Bush Report) o o o o Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development Wrote 30-page report to President Roosevelt Called for a "centralized approach to govt-sponsored science" (Pielke, 2010). "Govt funding increased by a factor of ten from the 1940s to the 1960s" (Pielke, 2010). Distributed more than $75 million in grants and fellowships by 1958 in support of scientific and engineering fields Formed in 1958 Also supported academic endeavors

Led to creation of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1950

o

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) o o

Other federal agencies that provided research aid included the National Institute of Mental Health, the Office of Naval Research, and the Atomic Energy Commission Federal Aid for academic research exceeded $1.25 billion

Outcomes of the "Golden Age"

Campus Problems

Lack of Certainty o In 1975, the Golden Age came to a halt o College-Age population leveled off o Country went into a recession o Economic value of college began to fall o Graduates dropped from 61% to 48%

Outcomes of the "Golden Age"

Research Universities

Developed and considered a powerful entity that earns respect for American scholarship Offering full range of Baccalaureate Programs o Committed to graduate education through the doctorate o Give high priority to research o Award 50 or more doctoral degrees each year o Receive annually $40 million on more in federal support

Outcomes of the "Golden Age"

Junior Colleges

Flourished as a new, distinctively American institution as a PostSecondary school that provides academic, vocational and professional education. The importance of Junior colleges over the years has been their ability to quickly adapt to the demands of the times. Today, technology is a major factor in the workplace and junior colleges help employees upgrade their skills and seek advanced training.

Outcomes of the "Golden Age"

Vocational Institutes & Trade Schools

For-profit, higher education sector where students are taught skills needed to perform a particular job.
Vocational schools do not function to further education in liberal arts but to focus specifically on teaching job-related skills.

Faculty And Students

Students Demographics

In the thirty years between 1945 and 1975 enrollment increased more than 500 percent, from around 2 million to 11 million students.

Faculty and Students

Access o GI Bill By 1946, the GI Bill college enrollments passed one

million, and total benefits paid out by the federal government as part of the act exceeded $5.5 billion. By 1950, out of fourteen million eligible veterans, more than two million, or 16 percent, enrolled in postsecondary education as part of the GI Bill.

Faculty and Students

GI Bill continued

During this time, the Servicemens Readjustment Act had specific notable terms to its educational program. All veterans who filled the published eligibility criteria were guaranteed the educational benefits. Benefits and tuition were portable meaning they could be carried by the veteran to the institution of their choice whether it be Harvard, a junior college, trade schools, vocational programs, or graduate professional schools
Institutions had to be federally approved in order to receive tuition and benefits. The resolution to this was that the federal government agreed to accept the institutional evaluations that colleges and universities themselves created for voluntary accreditation associations.

Faculty and Students

GI Bill continued

Changed the ways in which colleges and universities went about evaluating students applicants due to the increased applicant pool. Colleges began to increase the use of standardized testing for both admissions and placement decisions. Created data that advocated those who wished to alter American higher education permanently by using government financial aid to promote affordable access to undergraduate programs.

Faculty and Students

Racial Segregation and Prejudice

Rockefeller Foundations General Education Board- addressed funding disparities in the South.
Title IX- Women are not to be barred from matriculating in traditionally male fields such as construction trades, engineering, auto mechanics, and some sciences.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973- prohibited disability-based discrimination in federally funded programs, including admission to institutions of higher education.

Faculty and Students

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

The relationship between access and socioeconomic status (SES) showed high correlation between college entrance and graduation and family SES.
A report from 1961 found that 67 percent of the high school graduates whose father was professional or semiprofessional entered college, in comparison to the 25 percent whose father was a craftsman, farmer, or unskilled worker.

Faculty and Students

Socioeconomic Status continued

The National Merit Scholarship Program- enabled low-SES families to matriculate. By 1957, more than 96 percent of nearly fifteen thousand Merit Scholars, finalists, and semifinalists attended college.
The American College Testing Program- By 1964, more than one million students annually took the SAT. The standardized test was recognized as an objective means of a students ability to succeed in college. The American College Testing Program was founded in 1959 and began offering a test similar to the Educational Testing Services SAT due to questions of test fairness. ETS and ACT both developed specialized test to be used in screening applicants for professional and graduate schools.

Faculty and Students

Student activism

By the 1960s baby-boomers were determined to question social values and took part in efforts to rectify perceived injustices. o Media Influence- Protests were popularized by the media. Publications of various protests caused the control of the universities to be questioned. The prominence of the college student was also brought to question due to the violent displays. o Kent State and Jackson State- In May 1970, confrontations at Kent State University and Jackson State University turned awry between protesters and National Guard troops. Students at both universities were shot and four were killed at Kent State.

Faculty and Students

Faculty

Demographics- Between 1945-1975 faculty increased from 150,000 to 565,000. Faculty to student ratio when from 10 to 1 to 17 to 1.
Civil Rights o Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964- expanded to eliminate discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public and private institutions unless proven that the operation of the institution depended on people with set characteristics. o The federal Office of Civil Rights- began requiring every institution to create an affirmative action plan, set goals, and establish procedures by which faculty would be recruited.

Faculty and Students

Academic Freedom

Loyalty Oaths- In the late 1940s, several universities and state legislatures ruled that all employees were required to sign a disclaimer stating that they were not communist or affiliated with the communist party.
Statement from Association of American Universities 1953- revealed that universities became closely associated with the broader community. The document written by the president of Yale and endorsed by thirty seven leading institutions declared that anyone belonging to the Communist Party had no right to remain a staff member.

Faculty and Students

Academic Freedom continued

1957, Sweezy v. New Hampshire- overturned a contempt conviction of a professor who refused to answer questions regarding a lecture he had delivered.
1960, Shelton v. Tucker- The Supreme Court rejected as unconstitutional a state law requiring faculty at public institutions to provide evidence of their membership in or financial support of any organizations. 1967, Keyishian v. Board of Regents- the Court ruled that state law requiring faculty members to sign a certificate stating they were not and never had been communists were unconstitutionally unclear and general. 1968, Pickering v. Board of Education- the Court ruled a case where a teacher was terminated for writing a letter criticizing the school boards financial operating strategy.

1972, The Supreme Court ruled that faculty members at public institutions were entitled to a fair hearing under due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment when their contracts are not renewed if they were denied of property or liberty interest.

Faculty and Students

Collective Bargaining

Laws governing the rights of faculty to organize and be recognized as units of collective bargaining depended on whether an institution was public or private. Public institutions were subject to state laws, but private institutions were under the jurisdiction of federal law, specifically the National Labor Relations Act. The law was amended in 1947 to exclude supervisors from the category of employees entitled to a protected right to organize and bargain.

Curriculum

Typical associates degrees required 60 units or 20 classes and 120 units or forty classes for bachelors. Mass Higher Education Era o The enrollment of various types of students and the dividing of academic disciplines into subfields which created a greater variety of courses. o By the 1970s the number of courses offered reached the thousands. The 50 top universities averaged more than 4,500 different courses each. Close to 2,400 at the undergraduate level and 2,100 graduate courses were offered.

Curriculum
Influences on Curriculum

Causes for decline- The decline in the 1960s was attributed to the new fascination with television, youth counterculture fueled by drugs and disrespect for authority, and the rise in single-parent households.
The role of the community college- In 1963, close to one quarter of community college enrollment was occupational programs from students expecting to enter the workforce. 35% by 1975. Activism in the 1960's o Focused towards the curriculum and students desire to be treated as humans and not units to be processed. To fight against this dehumanization of the college experiences colleges were broken into smaller units or colleges within colleges to facilitate faculty interaction with students.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, known informally as the G.I. Bill, is a law that provided benefits for returning World War II veterans to include; low-cost mortgages, loans to start a business, tuition and living expenses to attend college. Since the initial onset of the G.I. Bill, why is it still important to our veterans some 60 years later?

2. Higher Education's post-war success was built on three beliefs: vocationalism, public higher education, and multiple sectors of postsecondary schooling. What are some of the benefits of obtaining a college degree post-war?

3. When President Truman marked the beginning of a shift in the nation's expectations with his commission on Higher Education, who did he think should go to college and what would the role of these graduates play in the future of the United States?

References
Cohen, A.M., & Kisker, C.B. (2010). The Shaping of American Higher Education (2nd ed.). (pp. 187-307). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Thelin, J.R. (2011). A History of American Higher Education (2nd ed.). (pp. 260-317). Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press Pielke, R. (2010). In Retrospect: Science - The Endless Frontier. Nature, 466(7309), 922-923 Impact of the War on Higher Education. Retrieved October 15, 2012, from,http://www.educ.ttu.edu/uploadedFiles/personnel-folder/leeduemer/epsy5314/documents/Impact%20of%20the%20war%20on%20higher%20educatio