American higher education is the absolute hegemony of today's world.They have the largest number of top universities in the world; the largest number of world-class masters in universities; the largest number of Nobel laureates in higher education; and their universities are the most functional and competitive.The model of American higher education has been studied by countless people. What is the magic weapon of the world they call it?
1. Full-right corporate body
Modern universities derive from the Middle Ages of Europe.American universities derive directly from universities transplanted in the UK (mainly Cambridge University) "the most fundamental academic values of European universities, summed up in two main respects: autonomy and academic freedom."[1]Academic freedom and university autonomy are the traditions of universities, as well as the basic laws and logic of university scientific development.The United States Government is well aware of this.Since the Dartmouth College decision of 1819, the U.S. government has respected the university's independent legal status.Both public and private universities operate under the basic rules of the university charter and state and state laws.This is why universities in the U.S. are refusing to grant honorary doctorate degrees to the president.Only then appeared the legal person body in the sense of full rights, the university also according to its own internal logic.Full rights come from limited government. Limited government realizes the full rights of universities through legal regulation and market operation.
Legislative regulation means that the government does not directly intervene in higher education, but adopts legislative regulation.High-profile examples are the Morrill Act 1862, the Military Rights Act 1944, the Defence Education Act 1958 and the Higher Education Act 1965.The Morrill Act of 1862 directly promoted the popularization and slumming of American higher education, which not only led to the birth of the third function of university, but also realized the fundamental revolution of American higher education.As American sociologist Talcott Parsons once said, the major breakthroughs in Western modernization were made by the Industrial Revolution, the Democratic Revolution, and the Education Revolution.If the most successful country in the industrial revolution is Britain and the most successful country in the democratic revolution is France, the United States is the most successful country in the educational revolution.
The market-oriented approach means that the U. S. government adopts the "contractual" management mode of funding for universities.This comes directly from V.The presidential report, "Science: The Frontier Without End," was edited by Vannevar Bush (1890-1974).In the report, Bush argued that scientists should not set up separate research institutions, but should do the necessary research in their own institutions, existing non-governmental organizations, including universities.②Funding shall be provided in the form of scientific research contracts, and the signing of government scientific research contracts shall be based on competition, and the government shall conduct evaluation through peer expert groups.③The best places to do basic research are colleges, universities, and donor-based research institutions, which he expects to create knowledge, discover and develop talent, and continue to explore the "endless frontier."
2. University resources in a rich and competitive country
Higher education requires a lot of money, as John Brubacher put it: "Even the richest countries cannot afford universal access to higher education unless society is willing to redistribute current national resources for defense, space exploration, public health, and social welfare programs."[2]The regulatory model of limited U.S. government and the full power nature of universities make it possible for U.S. companies and individuals to donate money to sponsor universities.At the same time, there is legal protection for donating university assets.In the United States, universities have a wide range of donors, from state governments to religious groups, from self-funded students to generous philanthropists.Rich donors such as Ezra Cornell, Leland Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and John Rockefeller had a profound impact on the development of higher education in the United States.Today, one of the main sources of funding for America's top universities is private donations.It can be said that the resources of every leading university can be described as "rich and invincible".Adequate funding for running schools lays the foundation for the development of higher education in the United States.As Clark Kerr, a prominent scholar in higher education, put it, money is needed to develop, shift academic priorities, and participate in social life.Which university receives the largest amount of money will help determine whether the university has a ten- or two-year development advantage.[3]The wealth of university resources allows American universities to hire top-notch talent and buy state-of-the-art equipment around the world-wide.
3与Advanced university system
The United States is a country where pragmatist philosophy occupies ideology.Pragmatist values and pragmatist lifestyles make them not limited to "take-it-yourselfism".The success of American universities is due to the "pragmatic" transformation of the world's university system.The reformed university system not only adapts to the external needs of localization culture, but also meets the internal requirements of university development logic.American universities were transplanted directly to British universities, but he did not completely transplant the British university system, but rather innovated the British university system.For example, he accepted the British university's academic juridical personality system, but innovated its board governance model; the US university's "up-level" benefited from the University of Berlin.The second half of the 19th century is the golden development period of American universities, which is also the golden period of American university system innovation.The credit system, elective system and core curriculum system directly promoted the development of Harvard University, while the Morrel Act directly promoted the emergence of the tertiary functions of universities.Even Sir Eric Ashby, former vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, had to say: "The great contribution of Americans to higher education is to break down the walls of universities.When Van Hise, president of the University of Wisconsin, said the boundaries of campuses were the boundaries of states, he spoke of a rare innovation in the history of university development.This has been demonstrated by historical developments that other countries are following America's example."[4] The Council of Professors makes universities important not only in decision-making on academic matters, but also in university administration, consultants, and policymakers.
4科学Scientific integrity intermediary
A reasonable, scientific buffer zone is needed between America's limited government and the universities of full power, and that is the vast intermediary of scientific integrity.These intermediaries play an important role in the classification of American universities, university evaluation, university governance and university professors' roles.Among the main intermediaries was the establishment of the American Association of University Professors in New York in 1915.John Dewey called it "a truly representative group of teachers organized democratically and voluntarily by university professors".The conference elected John Dewey as AAUP's first president and adopted the famous Declaration of Principles.The Declaration proclaimed the main principles of academic freedom: the right of professors to speak freely as teachers and scholars; the position of teachers must be guaranteed unless incompetent or morally flawed; and the right to appeal before a professor is punished.The Association of Governing Board of Universities and Colleges (AGB) was established in the District of Columbia in 1921.AGB is an important guide and appraiser of U.S. college governance. The association provides development policies, evaluation standards and training for U.S. college boards of directors.The American Council on Education (ACE) was established in 1918 to facilitate communication within the educational community and matters related to higher education issues, public policy and research.