"We are concerned in this book not only with how specific governmental actions affect the administration of postsecondary education, but also with how broader societal forces impact the entire academic community. Unraveling the web of relationships between higher education an society is paramount to understanding the academic enterprise and all that goes on within it. The perennial dynamism evident at all levels of American higher education provides fodder for analysts of all inclinations."

"Mass higher education has become a worldwide phenomenon, with enrollments growing from 100 million to 150 million in just a decade....Using up-to-date UNESCO statistics, trends defining higher education are place in a comparative and international framework."

"A global and comparative perspective is central to understanding the rapidly changing world of higher education. Tradition and Transition analyzes many of the key themes of academic change in the 21st century. It brings a unique comparative approach, citing examples from many national contexts to illustrate themes. Among the topics considered are the logic of mass higher education, globalization and inequality, the role of research universities, academic freedom, private higher education, and the academic profession and its problems. These topical chapters are accompanied by in-depth discussions of Asia and Africa."