Reimagining the University

Abstract

As already addressed in the previous chapters, first-generation (FG) students are not a monolithic group; indeed, their multiple identities and life roles have both constrained and enriched their perceptions of educational institutions and their place in it. In the United States, higher education is still viewed as the great equalizer, the path to a better life and a means of providing a more stable future for one’s family. In spite of this hope and promise, the question of who should have access to higher education has been debated in different forums for centuries. In 1965, John Brubacher, a higher education historian, raised the question “Higher education for whom?” (Hurtado & Navia, 1997, p. 106). While, in theory, one goal of higher education has been to redress imbalances in society by creating access to college, the practice of this goal has been in question, largely because access and excellence have been viewed as mutually exclusive. We have still failed to reach real consensus on this issue, even in 2010.