ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors use their academic preparation as American culture researchers, knowledge gleaned by working with hundreds of dynamic two-year and four-year higher-education institutions across the United States, and a variety of other administrative and academic experiences as sources for the authors' perspective on why the comprehensive college baccalaureate (CCB) is an important vehicle for the improvement and future success of higher education in the United States. Specifically, they address five factors that make the CCB necessary, including: demographics, public policy directions, issues associated with transferring from a two-year to a four-year institution, supply-and-demand issues associated with professional programs, and costs to students and states. For reasons associated with demographics, the comprehensive college baccalaureate is an idea whose time has come. The demographic trends mentioned previously have not gone unobserved by policy makers in the United States.
