Lessons from the Edge For-Profit and Nontraditional Higher Education in America

Subjects:

• Education » Higher Education

Reviews:

• The structure of the book lends itself to a variety of uses and users. Its straightforward, nontechnical style will appeal to the general reader, and its well-organized survey of higher eduation issues will prove useful to the student. A rather controversial topic, the subject of the book will be intriguing to faculty. Finally, the author's background as a university administrator contributes to his point of view and generates additional interest for higher education personnel. Berg's constructive attitude is refreshing. The message is that we can consider nontraditional providers of higher education, not as inferior competitors, but as unique institutions specializing in what traditional higher education providers are not yet able to deliver: truly universal access to postsecondary education. By learning from nontraditional schools, we can better our understanding of our current challenges. And by furthering our understanding, we can improve.
  —The Review of Higher Education Spring 2006

• Endorsement From William G. Tierney,
  Wilber-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education & Director, Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis,
  University of Southern California: One of the hottest topics in higher education today is for profit higher education. Everyone has an opinion but no one has any research--until now. Gary Berg's book offer insights on critical issues confronting for profit higher education. The book is useful for anyone concerned about the future of higher education. Strong. Thoughtful. Provocative.
• Endorsement From Bernard J. Luskin,
  Executive Vice President, Fielding Graduate University & Chairman and CEO, Luskin International: Gary Berg provides a fascinating, thorough, provocative, revealing array of specific information and concepts about the emerging profit and nonprofit universities. He offers helpful examples in a framework of insight into how to cope with emerging forces of change in higher education. Berg provides a helicopter view of profit and nonprofit universities essential for professionals interested in understanding the new trends and developments in higher education.

Table of Contents:

• Prologue: Edging to the Center
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Building "Educational Hobo Jungles"?
• Soft in the Middle: Current Challenges in Higher Education
• The Surprising Story of For-Profit and Non-Traditional Higher Education in America
• Missions: Who Are You?
• Junkyard Dogs: The Culture and Rhetoric of For-Profits
• Organizational Structure: Managers Not Administrators
• "Creative Tension": Decision-Making Process at For-Profit Universities
• Faculties
• Challenges for the For-Profits
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendix A: GoodWork Project
• Appendix B: Research Methods