(Continuing the discussion of Who are our customers for education? I. The employer as customer.)
"Society" has traditionally been a major "customer" of higher education. At different times and places, higher education has been called on by society to do such diverse things as help create and/or maintain national identity, display national cultural and intellectual excellence, create societal mobility, preserve the societal status quo, contribute to economic growth and improved living conditions, fend off and counteract foreign ideas and influences, and provide critical expertise in times of war. Thus, the expectations of society as customer have and will vary according to time and place. In return for meeting these expectations, higher education (at least the non-profit side) generally has been well rewarded by society. Much of higher education globally traditionally has been run by the state, and thus received the great majority of its support from the state. Private non-profit institutions have received de facto state support through tax breaks of a variety of types, and are typically eligible for some types and levels of state support. Thus, the challenge is not to determine whether or not society is one of the customers of higher education- it is - but to define in this rapidly changing and globalizing world what "society" is, and what it expects (and will expect) of higher education. Further complicating the issue is that "society" has many levels, ranging from governmental structures at one end of organizational complexity to individuals at the other, and the relationships between these, and intervening, levels is also changing rapidly.
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