Mainly theory/argumentative essay--Article begins by discussing the lack of diversity in public affairs program offerings, both on a Master's and Doctoral level. The author questions why this is, because diversity among students is growing--by race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, etc. The author then proposes that learning contracts could be used to increase diversity options within the programs, allowing students to use their prior experiences and culture to choose the assignments they will produce, thus making the learning more relevant to the individual. The instructor, she says, would become a mentor rather than a "deliverer of knowledge." Puts forth a process primarily gleaned from Knowles, Anderson, Boud, Wlodkowski and Ginsberg. The author states that she, herself, uses learning contracts as a portion of her course and goes on to explain how she breaks down the grading--however, she does not offer any evidence to "prove" that learning contracts make for a better course, in terms of grades or student perception.