Integration as the New (General) Education

Overview & Synopsis

The authors articulate how the contemporary realities of higher education do not square with its existing structures. Specifically, the disciplinary siloing of knowledge inhibits our ability to sponsor learning experiences that prepare students to solve complex problems. The authors contend that allowing for the primacy of integration is a way to answer questions about the worth of a college degree from an increasingly skeptical public concerned about higher education's utility. Integration, the article contends, provides a bridge between the growing trend of higher education as vocational training and more classic forms of liberal arts education that remain an integral part of the academy.