HIGHER LEARNING

Harvard president Bok is well-placed to discuss his subject, and his comments should interest professional educators. Bok begins by examining the special virtues of American universities--competitiveness, freedom from government control--and then turns his attention to undergraduate education. He describes recent changes in curriculum and student-body composition, and makes some bland recommendations for improvement (""However long it takes, an institution devoted to education must do its best to study the learning process and to assess the effects of its programs""). More heat is generated when Bok looks at professional schools and chides them for ignoring important social and ethical issues. His generally optimistic report concludes with proposals for stronger university programs in public service, and for efforts to reawaken the sense of commitment among today's Midas-eyed undergraduates.