Includes bibliographical references.

Front Matter -- Copyright page -- List of Figures and Tables -- Notes on Contributors -- Introduction / Walter Archer and Hans G. Schuetze -- How Central Is the “Principal Mission” of the University Today? / Chris Duke -- Canada -- Access to and Participation in Higher Education in Canada / Hans G. Schuetze and Walter Archer -- Aboriginal Higher Education and Indigenous Students / Michelle Pidgeon -- Minding the Gap: Perspectives on Graduate Education for Students with Disabilities / Mahadeo A. Sukhai -- Student Affairs and Services in Canadian Higher Education / Kyle D. Massey -- The World -- Reforms and Myths / Wietse de Vries -- Policies for Adult Students in Mexican Higher Education and Motives for Returning to Study / Germán Álvarez Mendiola and Brenda Yokebed Pérez Colunga -- The Value of Degrees and Diplomas in Japan / Shinichi Yamamoto -- MOOCs, Students, Higher Education and Their Paradoxes / Maureen W. McClure -- The Expansion of Higher Education and First Generation Students in Germany: Increasing Participation or Continuing Exclusion? / Andrä Wolter -- The Abolition of Tuition Fees in Germany: Student Protests and Their Impact / Dieter Timmermann -- Conditions of Learning at High-Ranked Universities in Four Countries: An International Student’s Perspective / Jade Zhao -- Students and Their Influence on Higher Education Policies -- Student Policies and Protests / Hans G. Schuetze -- Collective Student Action and Student Associations in Quebec / Alexandre Beaupré-Lavallée and Olivier Bégin-Caouette -- European Higher Education Reforms and the Role of Students / Pavel Zgaga.

In Preparing Students for Life and Work: Policies and Reforms Affecting Higher Education’s Principal Mission the editors assemble works by scholars of higher education who address various aspects of the policies and reforms that affect the education and ultimately the lives and work prospects of students. Chapter topics include the social and government policy context of higher education in various countries, including Canada, Mexico, the USA, Japan, Germany, Europe generally and the Bologna process specifically. Aspects of teaching and learning in higher education, including MOOCs, student services, and treatment of international students are also addressed. Finally, how students themselves have had major impacts on higher education in various countries is touched upon in several chapters.