The definitive history of American higher education. For more than two decades, A History of American Higher Education has been the gold standard account of how colleges and universities shaped―and were shaped by―American society. In this fully revised fourth edition, John R. Thelin extends that history into a period of profound upheaval. The new edition adds a substantial final chapter examining the years from 2020 through 2025, a time marked by pandemic disruption, political conflict, demographic change, and growing challenges to the legitimacy of higher education itself. Thelin addresses campus closures and remote instruction, congressional scrutiny and protest movements, shifting patterns of philanthropy, debates over admissions and access, the commercialization of college sports, and the accelerating role of technology in teaching and learning. Together, these developments reveal an institution under extraordinary strain―and one whose future direction remains unsettled. Throughout, Thelin preserves the narrative clarity and interpretive balance that made earlier editions essential reading. Moving from colonial colleges to mass higher education, from the rise of the federal grant university to its present-day erosion, he situates contemporary crises within a longer history of adaptation, conflict, and reform. Comprehensive and authoritative, A History of American Higher Education remains indispensable for students, scholars, and anyone seeking to understand how American colleges and universities arrived at their current crossroads. A History of American Higher Education is the rare book that treats colleges and universities as living, contested spaces shaped by power, politics, and people. John Thelin's fourth edition offers a sweeping, honest history that helps readers understand not just where higher education has been, but why its struggles and contradictions matter so deeply right now. ―Marybeth Gasman, Rutgers University Thelin's History has become the contemporary classic by weaving themes of mission, access, financing, curriculum, student life, and campus growth across generations of American higher education. Addressing recent changes in the federal relationship and the law, this new edition underscores both continuities and challenges facing colleges and universities. ―Linda Eisenmann, author of Higher Education for Women in Postwar America, 1945-1965 American higher education's preeminent historian provides a wonderfully updated edition. Through lively storytelling, eras are analyzed to reveal longstanding myths and challenges facing colleges and universities in a constantly changing America. The result is an important lesson of relentless ingenuity as institutions continue to adapt to the times at hand. ―Bennett G. Boggs, Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development I have been using John Thelin's History since I was in graduate school when the first edition came out. I use it every semester in my course on the history of higher education and will surely be using it until I retire. It's an indispensable teaching resource! ―Christian K. Anderson, University of South Carolina The definitive history of American higher education. John R. Thelin is the University Research Professor Emeritus of the history of higher education and public policy at the University of Kentucky. His numerous books include A History of American Higher Education and College Sports: A History.