Literature Review #4

Access, Equity, and Community

Colleges: The Truman Commission and Federal Higher Education Policy from 1947 to 2011
by Claire Krendl Gilbert and
Donald E. Heller
 
 
 
 
This article that I found online discusses U.S policy on education from 1947 until 2011. It goes over the several policies that were enacted over this time to help send the general population to college and universities. It also goes on to talk about the different demographics that attended universities during this period.


The commission that was created to help bring education to all demographics was aimed not at one particular group but for every student in the United States. It was also a very controversial topic when it was initially brought up. "The Commission’s recommendations on expanding access by eliminating financial, race, sex, and religious barriers were extremely controversial for years after the publication of the report within the higher education community (page 12)". The fact that it was controversial to help all these demographics achieving a free or cheap higher education shows how reluctant the government is at helping the whole population as a whole.
 This article talks about the various ways how the government decided to go about encouraging all demographics to attend higher education. While the commission in this article noticed the raising prices of tuition, they only helped by allowing easier access to loans, which they didn't think would actually aid students. "This certainly meets the Commission’s desire for a vastly expanded federal involvement in higher education, especially in providing financial support to students. However, the increasing emphasis on loans is probably not what the Commission would have wanted, given its belief that an increase in loan aid would not serve to actually provide opportunity for students (page 11)." This quote goes to show that the commission realized that loans would help students pay for education but would ultimately hurt them afterwards.

Other methods that the commission initially sought to make education equal for all was creating a set of public schools that would be the equivalent of the first two years of college education. These public institutions now known as community colleges were thought of being funded by the local government and not the federal government, but would create free higher tuition education for all demographics.

"In other words, the Commission expected that public community colleges would be as free and accessible to students as other parts of the K–12 school system. However, in the Commission’s conception of funding structures for the two-year colleges, this free tuition would be accomplished not through federal support but through financing by local communities with supplemental aid provided by the state (page 15)".

 
This article helps my case for my project, as it helps show that the government is able to notice the issues that are affecting its citizens. It goes on to show that while it does realize are issues it isn't able to achieve or push through legislation that will help solve some of the major issues.  Gilbert, Claire Krendl, and Donald E. Heller. "Access, Equity, And Community Colleges: The Truman Commission And Federal Higher Education Policy From 1947 To 2011." Journal Of Higher Education 84.3 (2013): 417-443. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.