(Continuing the discussion begun in Modularity in university higher education, June 16, 2006)
Research is, of course, what defines the reputation of most university faculty. In turn, the reputation of the faculty builds the reputation of the university. Thus the connecting input characteristics of the research module must be defined in a way that it supports the efforts of the faculty in this domain. In addition, there are very close ties between research and Ph.D. education, and so one of the outputs that one would have to maintain for a research module is that it be appropriate for graduate training and, increasingly, undergraduate research experiences. However, in many if not most of our major research universities, there are research centers- often quite large - whose primary mission is not training, but production of focused sponsored research for, typically, government, sometimes industry. Indeed, at one limit, many such centers do classified research, which is inappropriate for the training of students. Much of the research in these centers generally is not carried out by regular faculty, but by a staff of professional researchers. Thus, even in some cases when the research itself may be quite appropriate for graduate training, lack of involved faculty mentors may give these centers marginal value for graduate training. The rational for having such centers will vary from university to university, but for those centers most removed from the academic center, the rational is often tied up in the larger service role of the university. Such centers can contribute significantly to the reputation of the university, thus bringing value in a different dimension.
Thus we see within a typical large university at least two different types of research module. One of these is closely aligned with aspirations of regular faculty and with graduate training, and therefore has rather well defined input and output characteristics that allow it to work synergistically with other modules (e.g. education) in the university. The other is more divorced from the educational component of the university, and tied in perhaps with the service component. Its output requirements are primarily that it satisfy its funding sources, input requirement that it do so in a way that enhances the reputation of the university e.g. through service, or perceived excellence. Of course, the reality is that there is a continuum of possibilities that lies between these two types of modules. However, these two extreme cases will let us investigate how the opportunities of globalization might lead to improvements in both.
