Mission Of The University

In 1930, the great Spanish philosopher Jos Ortega y Gasset set forth a program for reforming the modern Spanish university. Aware that the missions of the university are many and often competing, Ortega built his program around a conception of a "general culture" that knows no national boundaries or time limits and could fit into any national system of higher education. His ideas are especially pertinent to contemporary debate in America over curriculum development and the purpose of education. In this volume Ortega sought to answer two essential questions: what is the knowledge most worth knowing by all students and what is the function of the university in a modern democracy? Basing his answers on his own deep personal culture and an extensive knowledge of the various European university systems, Ortega defined four primary missions: the teaching of the learned professions, the fostering of scientific research, training for political leadership, and finally the creation of cultured persons with the ability to make intellectual interpretations of the world. Ortega's understanding of "general culture" is set out in great detail here. He meant an active engagement in ideas and issues that were both historical and contemporary. His concern is with the classical problems of justice, the good society, who should rule, and the responsibilities of citizenship. This edition first published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Even if in most countries non-university higher education institutions did not have originally a research mandate, it is well known that in most cases these institutions have progressively developed research activities and, at least in some countries, the State now has recognized the research role of these institutions and provided support and funding. Moreover, in many countries the role of research in polytechnics, ‘fachhochschulen’, ‘hogescholen’, university colleges, etc is on the political agenda. Despite the importance of the issue, there are very few in-depth studies of research in the non-university sector. These studies show that the development of research in these institutions leads to quite complex interactions with universities, both in the sense of convergence (academic drift) and/or of differentiation of a specific research mandate oriented towards the regional economy. Therefore, this book aims to fill this gap by first analysing a number of transversal issues related to the research mission of these institutions. In its second part it gives an overview of the state of the art in eight European countries.

This book examines the entire higher education industry and includes the rapidly growing for-profit schools.

This volume presents recent scholarship on the changing research mission of the university and on the implications of these changes for the university itself. As these papers make clear the leading nations increasingly view the research mission of the university as a principal component of national innovation policies.

In 1930, the great Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset set forth a program for reforming the modern Spanish university. Aware that the missions of the university are many and often competing, Ortega built his program around a conception of a general culture that knows no national boundaries or time limits and could fit into any national system of higher education. His ideas are especially pertinent to contemporary debate in America over curriculum development and the purpose of education.In this volume Ortega sought to answer two essential questions: what is the knowledge most worth knowing by all students and what is the function of the university in a modern democracy? Basing his answers on his own deep personal culture and an extensive knowledge of the various European university systems, Ortega defined four primary missions: the teaching of the learned professions, the fostering of scientific research, training for political leadership, and finally the creation of cultured persons with the ability to make intellectual interpretations of the world. Ortega's understanding of general culture is set out in great detail here. He meant an active engagement in ideas and issues that were both historical and contemporary. His concern is with the classical problems of justice, the good society, who should rule, and the responsibilities of citizenship.In his informative and brilliant introduction to this new edition, Clark Kerr, a lifetime student of Ortega's work, analyzes Ortega's ideas in their historical context and speculates on how the great issues he dealt with here can be made contemporary for modern students facing the challenges and uncertainties of the twenty-first century. Mission of the University and its new opening essay will be of interest to educationists, social scientists, and above all the students of this era.

The President of the Univ. of California describes and assesses some of the significant trends and developments in higher education.