ABSTRACT
Institutions of higher learning have flourished in diverse societies throughout the world. Their formation and development has been the subject of scholarly inquiry across the humanities and social sciences. These investigations have addressed several interrelated topics: the aims, curricula, and organization of higher education; the social composition and activity of both their clientele and personnel; the linkages between higher education and varying class structures, political regimes, religious traditions; and the antecedents and consequences of higher educational expansion.
