The University

An examination of pressing issues facing colleges and universities in developed countries.

The expectations that society places on higher education are remarkably consistent among nations and the problems and issues faced by college and university leaders are quite similar worldwide. In The University the authors look at colleges and universities in Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.They examine the purpose of the university, its evolution and change, its degree of autonomy, evaluations of performance and accountability, its role in guaranteeing human rights, financing, and efficiency and the influence of technology on instruction and structure - all issues that are highly relevant to university leaders and legislators who seek to form and fashion responsive and workable institutions and systems of higher education.The authors suggest measures needed to overcome organizational inertia and recognize the necessity of responsiveness to social and economic changes. Different aspects of worldwide human rights struggles that bear on the university are discussed - for instance the situation in South Africa, where higher education institutions are seeking to redress the misdeeds of the past. The authors also address the issue of public versus private institutional competition and the emergence of the private for-profit institution. Finally, the realities of how and to what extent technology can be relied upon to improve college and university instruction is examined. Contributors include Don Aitkin (University of Canberra, Australia), F. King Alexander (University of Illinois), Kern Alexander (University of North Florida), Michael J. Beloff (Trinity College, Oxford), Ian Clark (Council of Ontario Universities), Stephen R. Greenwald (Audrey Cohen College, New York), James J. Mingle (Cornell University), John H. Moore (Grove City College, Pennsylvania), David W. Olien (University of Wisconsin System, Madison), and David R. Woods (Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa).