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Foreword

Great Expectations: How Illinois Residents View Higher Education is part of a broader effort of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and Public Agenda to stimulate a public discussion about the role of colleges and universities in maintaining and enhancing the opportunities for all Americans to participate fully in our society. This special survey complements a larger survey administered to the entire nation and released in May, called Great Expectations: How the Public and Parents-White, African American and Hispanic-View Higher Education. These reports are available in full at www.highereducation.org, and supplemental information is available at www.publicagenda.org.

John Immerwahr, the author of both the national and Illinois reports, has done a masterful job of explaining the most significant trends in public attitudes about higher education, and of illuminating the key similarities between the views of Illinois residents and Americans generally. His findings are based on a national sample of over 1,000 adults and a state sample of over 500 Illinois residents. We would like to thank the Illinois Board of Higher Education for sponsoring this special survey of Illinois residents. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the organizations whose financial support made the national report possible: The Ford Foundation, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education, and the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement.

Patrick M. Callan
President
National Center for Public Policy
and Higher Education

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© 2000 The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education