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It is vital that any organisation is crystal clear about its objective or reason for remaining. But under no circumstances is there a more essential time and energy to re-examine one's "raison d'etre" than throughout occasions of cutback and money restraint. And which kind of organisation is better put to philosophically question its existence than universities, who're started on crucial considered (and without a doubt, the self-discipline of philosophy - sorry, I'm biased, it can be what I studied around my masters' degree!) And I may possibly be exposing my bias by pre-supposing the relevance or centrality from the questioning within the response.

Precisely what is a university?

Is it the know-how it generates? But exploration normally takes put from the non-public sector much too, albeit considerably less transparently - though the peer evaluation process is likewise under fire. More info: click here.

Can it be the "learning" imparted on students by instructors and "experts"? But MIT, for instance, spots its training course components online at no cost - so why fork out ever-increasing tuition costs? And, what is the worth of the bit of paper that says you realized some thing, when 10 a long time afterwards you have possible overlooked, or perhaps the data has been changed with additional existing information and facts?

Could it be the point that graduates "get employment," as quite a few universities claim in their marketing substance? Presumably the glass ceiling on earnings is lower having a diploma, but with raising usage of training, to be able to differentiate themselves in the "competition" college students are owning to undertake 2nd or 3rd degrees - a primary degree is usually not plenty of.

Is it the effect universities make for the marketplace & within the community? But arguably so does industry of any form, although undoubtedly this is usually a somewhat unidirectional argument as one feeds the other.

Can it be the preservation of "freedom of expression," (although not a widely referred to concept during the UK) whereby both college students and staff feel that they can tackle the tough questions without reproach? I think most people would agree this is additional than a little idealistic.

Is it the physical experience? But classes are usually virtual, and e-books and online journals are slowly replacing their paper siblings. While a lot of pupils live on campus and organise themselves socially according to their studies and interests, this too is not an exclusive feature from the college experience.I would argue that it is really all on the above - within the way that these pieces are intertwined, and cannot truly exist without one another - although such an ambiguous, large-scale "creature" is challenging to "sell" to politicians and the general public. It's nebulous, and it's complicated, and that's what makes it beautiful.

But should each university have its own identity, intent, stakeholders? Or should they be tied together in reaching common goals? How can their success be evaluated? In an era of classifications, rankings, and "tagging," clarity and differentiation is critical for communications.