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Title: Separate by Degree: Women Students' Experiences in Single-Sex and Coeducational Colleges by Leslie Miller-Bernal ISBN: 0-8204-4412-X Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing Pub. Date: September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: A former Wells Student gives this book an "A"
Comment: In Separate by Degree, Prof. Miller-Bernal brings to life the history of women's higher education at different institutions. The various approaches to educating women and the changes along the way are presented in a well-rounded manner and make for interesting reading. A lot of ground is covered here and some hallowed halls of learning get tough scrutiny. Insightful, well-written and pertinent for many different kinds of readers, I recommend this book. As a Wells graduate who took part in the four-year study, the second half of the book was of special interest to me. There were a couple of surprises when I got to review how my fellow students had responded to questions posed to us over ten years ago and a bit of regret that I can't exactly remember how I responded myself! The actual data from the four year survey may not be for everyone, but Prof. Miller-Bernal presents it clearly and draws some thoughtful conclusions that are relevant to the endangered status of women's single-sex education today.

Rating: 5
Summary: Separate by Degree
Comment: Choosing the right college is a difficult decision. For many it is based upon reasons that may not be totally valid. For some, the choice is not given much thought at all. For this reason, Professor Miller-Bernal's new book, Separate by Degree, should be on the reference shelves of our libraries and in the guidance offices of our high schools, for Professor Miller-Bernal gives some cogent reasons why single-sexed education might be a more suitable option for many of our young women.

Professor Miller-Bernal has done extensive and well-documented research on the treatment of women in four different kinds of colleges. She takes us to Wells (a small single-sexed institution), Middlebury, (a long-time coeducational college), Hobart and William Smith ( a coordinate school), and Kirkland/Hamilton (once a coordinate school and now a coeducational institution). She is totally honest about the good and bad points of all four colleges and has thoroughly researched what is happening to the women who graduated in the class of '88. She also tells us about the academic and social opportunities for women at these different institutions and how women fared in positions of leadership and responsibility in campus life. She shares suggestions on how all four colleges might better serve their female populations.

Professor Miller-Bernal has also done extensive research into the history of women's colleges. The cliche, "You've come a long way, baby," really does say it all in this case. Fortunately, society's reasons for educating women have changed, and truly it is only in recent years that women are finally receiving some sort of equitable treatment in higher education. Anyone interested in learning about women's struggle for rights will find this book enlightening and informative.

Madeline Nelson Teacher West Islip Public School System

Rating: 5
Summary: Important Contribution to Study of Women's Colleges
Comment: Leslie Miller-Bernal's Separate By Degree is a timely, engaging and accessible book about the important differences in the educational experiences of women who attend women's colleges compared to those who attend coeducational institutions. The book is timely because it calls on the reader to reconsider the value of single-sex education at a critical moment of decline in the history of women's colleges. The book is engaging because Miller-Bernal tells an exciting and frustrating story of the struggle of women for gender equity in higher education. And the book is accessible, thanks to the easily understood manner in which the author writes.

Professor Miller-Bernal argues that single-sex education still has advantages for women. Those advantages include: a high proportion of women faculty who can act as role models for students; more opportunities for young women to develop leadership skills; and a supportive atmosphere where women do not have to defer to men. Her argument is based on quality research, including longitudinal surveys of women students at four Northeastern colleges: Wells, Middlebury, William Smith and Hamilton. The histories of the colleges are described in rich detail, the differences in the experiences of women students at the four institutions are carefully compared and contrasted, and the most recent literature on single-sex education is well presented and thoughtfully critiqued.

Although Professor Miller-Bernal asks the reader to reconsider the value of single-sex education for women, she does not fall into the nostalgia trap. She recognizes some of the past and current limitations of women's colleges, and she details the many factors that have made coeducational institutions more viable than women's colleges. She ends Separate By Degree with a set of recommendations for applying the beneficial aspects of women's colleges to coeducational institutions and a caveat--If colleges are really concerned about women and equality, they will have to attend carefully to meeting the needs of all women students and never waiver from the goal of achieving gender equity.