Description
please respond to Jean:
The formative period played an important role in higher education in the United States today. I believe “The City Upon a Hill” had the most impact on higher education in the United States. This was the time period when God guided the Puritans to settle in New England Massachusetts where they built places of worship, houses and later built a college. The governor John Winthrop at the time stated their purpose quite clearly: “We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us” (Independence Hall Association, 2008, para. 1). It is exactly what they did. Set an example for the rest of the world, especially when it came to higher education institutions.
According to Lucas (2016), in October of 1636 the general court of Massachusetts, then only in its eighth year of operations, appropriated funds for the establishment of a college at Newtown which was later renamed Cambridge (p. 104). Cambridge educated the clergy during that period. The development of Cambridge then lead to Harvard University, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth College, and the creation of many other institutions . These colleges originated from religion, but later turned away from religion as its origin to improve enrollment. That period influenced colleges as these they still exist today and have grown tremendously. Yale currently has an enrollment of approximately 13,000 students, and Harvard is an Ivy League with about 31,000 students. These colleges would not exist today if it was not for “The City Upon a Hill” movement.
The City Upon a Hill lead to the Dartmouth Case that also has an impact on higher education today. During that period, many colleges offered scholarships and stipends for students to attend. Thus colleges had to go to the state for funding. “It required a decision by the United States Supreme Court in 1819 to help lay the foundations for the legal distinction between a “public” and “private” college” (Lucas, 2016, p. 114). It is similar to colleges today as there are many private and public institutions that currently exist in the United States. Public institutions receive funding from the state and private universities receive donations and student tuition. Public schools can receive donations as well. “Between 1782 and 1802, nineteen colleges were established, more than twice as many as had been chartered in the preceding century and a half” (Lucas, 2016, p. 117). If it were not for the Dartmouth period many students would not be able to attend higher education institutions if funding was dependent on their own source of income. The Dartmouth period also led to the creation of many other private institutions. Overall, one can believe that The City Upon a Hill has the most impact on higher education institutions today as many original colleges were created during that period, and they are still thriving today. The Dartmouth period also played an important role in how our current higher education institutions are managed today.
