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It's important that any organisation is crystal clear about its goal or reason behind being. But under no circumstances is there a far more crucial the perfect time to re-examine one's "raison d'etre" than all through occasions of cutback and financial restraint. And what sort of organisation is better placed to philosophically issue its existence than universities, that are founded on significant assumed (and indeed, the willpower of philosophy - sorry, I am biased, it's what I analyzed around my masters' degree!) And I may possibly be exposing my bias by pre-supposing the value or centrality of your questioning inside the respond to.

Precisely what is a college?

Is it the expertise it generates? But analysis can take put in the non-public sector too, albeit less transparently - but the peer overview method can also be beneath hearth. More info: click here.

Could it be the "learning" imparted upon college students by teachers and "experts"? But MIT, such as, areas its study course supplies on-line at no cost - so why spend ever-increasing tuition service fees? And, what is the price of a piece of paper that states you uncovered a little something, when ten years afterwards you have possible forgotten, or the facts may be replaced with additional recent information and facts?

Is it the reality that graduates "get employment," as numerous universities declare within their marketing stuff? Presumably the glass ceiling on earnings is less having a diploma, but with rising usage of education and learning, as a way to differentiate on their own in the "competition" college students are possessing to undertake 2nd or 3rd levels - a primary diploma is commonly not good enough.

Can it be the impression universities make for the marketplace & within the community? But arguably so does industry of any form, although undoubtedly this can be a somewhat unidirectional argument as one feeds the other.

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

Is it the physical experience? But classes are often virtual, and e-books and online journals are slowly replacing their paper siblings. While lots of students live on campus and organise by themselves socially according to their studies and interests, this much too is not an exclusive feature of the college experience.I would argue that it's all on the above - from 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 truly is nebulous, and it is 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 essential for communications.