The University: International Expectations

The University: International Expectations

Table of ContentsPreface
CONTENTS
The Object of the University: Motives and Motivation, Kern Alexander, Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
Reinventing Universities, Don Aitkin, President Emeritus, University of Canberra, Australia
Advocacy, Self-Management, Advice to Government: The Evolving Functions of the Council of Ontario Universities, Ian Clark, President, Council of Ontario Universities, Canada
Financing University Performance in Great Britain and the United States, F. King Alexander, President, Murray State University, USA
Human Rights in European: Effects on Governance of British Universities, Michael Beloff, President, Trinity College in the University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Overcoming Apartheid in South Africa Universities: Differential Access and Excellence, David Woods, Vice Chancellor, Rhodes University, South Africa
Rising Costs and the Survival of America’s Small Private Colleges, John Moore, President, Grove City College, USA
The Challenge of the For-Profit College to the Traditional College Model, Stephen Greenwald, President, Audrey Cohen College, USA
Impediments on the International Information Highway: Risks to Universities of Foreign Jurisdiction over Internet Defamation Suits, James Mingle, University Counsel and Secretary of the Corporation, Cornell University, USA
Back to Earth: Expectations for Using Technology to Improve the College Experience, David Olien, Senior Vice President for Administration, University of Wisconsin System, USA
PREFACE
The University provides discussion of prevailing issues and expectations that confront college and university leaders on four continents. The reader will quickly see that the global environment in which higher education functions today poses complex questions that education leaders must resolve if their initiatives are to succeed. While the book deals with colleges and universities only in the English-speaking countries of Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the issues raised are relevant for other countries that have relatively well-developed systems of higher education. The book moves from the general to the specific, with the introductory chapter presenting the ever-perplexing dilemma of the "what and why" of university existence, the object of the enterprise, and its relationship to a particular state and nation. Should the university inform the state or should the state prescribe the purpose of the university? Questions regarding university autonomy and freedom to create its own design are implicit in all aspects of this question. Much of the book is devoted to a discussion of measures needed to overcome inertia in universities and the need for responsiveness to the social and economic changes that permeate university cultures. Constantly "reinventing" it as a relevant part of society and facilitating the adaptations needed to maintain the university are a critical mechanism in social progress is of central importance to higher education, regardless of the nature of the government under which it operates.
Within this broad agenda, the book raises questions that can be most clearly addressed within the context of existing national systems of higher education. Canada's experience with regard to centralization of decision-making and the efficacies of alternative organizational structures is informative for government federations that support higher education, particularly Australia and the United States. Questions of the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of educational services and the university’s responsiveness to both the taxpayer and the student are of paramount concern throughout the book. Universities operate under the constraints of the public’s expectations, requiring maximization of resources. The search for higher levels of performance and greater quality and quantity of higher education at ever lesser costs intensifies with every passing decade. In this regard, one chapter in particular highlights performance requirements in the United Kingdom and the United States, forming interesting parallels, demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses that should be of considerable interest to practicing university leaders and legislators alike.
Two chapters are devoted to different aspects of human rights that are directly and appropriately of concern to universities. The ability of the university to aid in advancing the state of human rights may constitute its greatest test. The situation in South Africa is in the forefront of this discussion as institutions of higher education in that country seek to redress the pervasive social and economic misdeeds of the past. Moreover, the legal difficulties involved in the quest for human rights in Europe and the United States are presented in some detail; the adaptation of England and Wales to the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights is highlighted.
The book also addresses the vital question of how to deal with increasing costs, as well as the issue of public versus private institutional competition and the emergence of the private for-profit institution as a rising player in post-secondary education, particularly in the United States. As observed, herein, the challenge that proprietary educational corporations pose for traditional private non-profit institutions will not be easily or quickly resolved.
Finally, two chapters of the book are devoted to the phenomenon of technology and information flow that is altering the traditional structure of the university. The legal implications of internet use and the risks to universities created by foreign legal jurisdictions are discussed, as are the realities of how technology can be used to improve college and university instruction, and the overall experience of higher education.
All the chapters are written by university leaders who are actively involved in dealing with the matters involved. The problems raised do not have simple solutions, but we hope that the insights provided about options and alternatives will make this a valuable book for people in leadership positions in colleges and universities.
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