North American Higher Education: Shaping the Future - Minority Higher Education Gains Slipping in the 1980s, Study Finds

Sep 21, 2026

This issue examines higher education’s future direction amid global competition and changing economic needs. It highlights speeches and reports from the American Council on Education on the value of liberal arts education, job-specific training pressures, and national education reform. It also documents minority participation trends, noting improvements over two decades followed by declines in the 1980s, and includes related federal job-training policy information and administrative guidance for campuses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages5

Reading Time13 min

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Minority Higher Education Gains Slipping in the 1980s, Study Finds

Job Training Partnership Act

Higher EducationNational Affairs Business-Higher Ed CooperationKey to Global Market Challenge,Says U.S.Corporate Leader Canadian industry,in the same way as its U.S.counterpart,faces a challenge from internationalcompetition that will call for renewed cooperationbetween business and higher education. That was the message of a speech by RobertAnderson,chairman and chief executive officer ofRockwell International Corp.,at this week's annualmeeting of the American Council on Education inToronto,Canada. "What we need from higher education is the highestquality liberal arts program you can establish andoffer,"he said. Anderson is also chairman of the Business-HigherEducation Forum,an ACE group created in 1978 tobring together corporate and campus leaders to lookat national problems.(continued on page 3) Minority participation in higher education,whiledramatically improving in the past two decades,hasdeclined in the 1980s,says a new report from theAmerican Council on Education's Office of MinorityConcerns. The office's second annual report looking at thestatus of minorities in higher education was unveiledat this week's ACE annual meeting in Toronto,Canada.Reasons for the decline,the report says,are(continued on page 4) | VOLUME 32,NUMBER 28 | OCTOBER 14,1983 | | --- | --- | # “North American Higher Education:Shaping the Future”Higher Education's Mission Debated AtACE AnnualMeeting Hi-Tech Age Demands Emphasis OnLiberal Arts Education,Bell Says Liberal arts education should not be permitted toerode in the face of pressure for job-specific trainingin the high-technology age,Education SecretaryTerrel Bell said at this week's American Council onEducation annual meeting in Toronto,Canada. Linking his talk to the recent spate of reportsquestioning the quality of U.S.education,Bell saidan emphasis must be placed on traditional subjects. Here are excerpts from his address: "It is my thesis that this ancient civilization ofours—which was the breeding ground of the modernuniversities and parliaments—cannot be understoodnor can it be advanced without a solid liberal artseducation that includes strong,healthy doses ofphilosophy,literature,history,theology,math andscience.I fear we are drifting from the liberal artsunder the pressure of our graduate and professionalschools for even earlier entry into job specialization. # Minority Higher Education GainsSlipping in the 1980s,Study Finds "Our Canadian friends are likely very much awareof the current debate raging across our country. "I am absolutely convinced that there is currentlyin progress the greatest,the most far-reaching,andI believe,the most promising reform and renewal ofeducation we have seen since the turn of the century. (continued on page 2) AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION LIBERALARTS EDUCATION (continued from page1) "I hear from time to time the most absurd of allcomplaints—that we are overeducating many people.Since many jobs do not require college degrees,wehear the argument that we should restrict access tothe pursuit of these degrees.We may mis-educateour people but we cannot overeducate them. "The more [education]the better,if it is learningthat deepens understanding,strengthens our deci-sion making at the voting booth,and increases ourproductivity. "Every sign I see indicates that the next decadewill undergo unprecedented scientific and techno-logical change in our world. “Although no one can accurately predict the future,the events of this century have demonstrated onetruth:the best way-indeed the only way—to copewith accelerating change and its almost exponentialincrease in knowledge and data,is to concentrate onmastery of the traditional academic subjects. "The next generation are your clients and I knowthat you are willing and enthusiastically preparing them for the new economic age which willemphasizeinformation—high tech and service jobs and careers.Since they are also our nations'and our civilization'slife blood and ca

FAQs

What message did Robert Anderson deliver to the American Council on Education meeting?

He argued that higher education should offer the highest-quality liberal arts programs and emphasized renewed cooperation between business and higher education to meet international market challenges.

Why does Terrel Bell stress liberal arts education in the high-tech age?

He warns that job-specific training pressure should not erode liberal arts and traditional academic subjects, because coping with rapid scientific and technological change requires strong mastery of those subjects.

What trend does the report describe for minority participation in higher education?

Minority participation improved dramatically over the past two decades but declined during the 1980s, according to the American Council on Education’s Office of Minority Concerns.

Sep 21, 2026

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