the ranking phenomenon
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away from exclusion to a new ethic of inclusion. A new message was
being sent out to Americans: "College is the right choice for all. What-
ever you want, we have it."
Reaching out to this broader community, colleges began to justify their
value in new, far more practical ways. Those who would not have attended
college a generation earlier were lured by the promise of job training and
career advancement. Here they would learn useful skills and leave with a
credential that opened doors to well-paying jobs. New degrees were of-
fered in professional careers, business, and vocational trades, often pushing
more traditional disciplines, such as language, history, philosophy, and the
arts, to the margins of the curriculum. Studies were conducted showing
the economic advantage enjoyed by college graduates empowered with
job-ready skills and a degree.
Looking for the Best
Even as colleges and universities were shifting to a system of mass educa-
tion, neither educators nor students were ready to give up the fantasy of
the old elite system. Yes, students and parents wanted colleges to be more
accessible, more convenient, more practical, and offer more educational
choices. But everyone still liked the idea of college as it was once imag-
ined to be--a place where a few carefully chosen smart kids sit at the feet
of wise and kind teachers; a place that is warm and nurturing; a place that
promotes both social and intellectual development; a place with varsity
letters and homecoming traditions. In short, a place that looks and acts
like, well, a college.
Indeed, as mass education took hold, these symbols of prestige grew
ever more important for some students. After all, college is all about
getting something special--knowledge and skills, of course, but some-
thing else--status. Most students intuitively know that college is about
more than learning the history of the Peloponnesian War, or even "use-
ful" things like how to write a business plan. A degree is about getting
