While Marc Spooner argues we should "avoid pitting these conceptions of higher education against one another," it is difficult to reconcile competing visions of university as either a mechanism for earning gainful employment or as contributing to a more enlightened and reflective society. Not everybody has the time, wealth and leisure to devote to the latter objective (though lowering tuition costs helps) as desirable as it may be. And some governments - particularly those with a business and economic focus - see little value in generating anything other than employment. I think universities haven't helped here, at least, not in North America. Far from being stand-alone institutions you have to commit your entire life to if you want to join, they should be more and more integrated with the community, being a part of everybody's lives rather than being everything for only a few. Via Academic Matters.
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