The Compromised Purpose of Universities

Some students and I recently ran into some conflict with UW administration. We were going back and forth on the question of nonpartisan voter registration by faculty and staff on university time. Our argument was that voter registration and participation fits within the “civic engagement” mission of the university. Theirs was that is does not.

This frustrating disagreement led me to think about the university’s priorities and how they’re determined. As discussed in Labaree’s piece, the mission and priorities of public universities have dramatically shifted over time. The initial intention of universities to be intellectual hubs that fostered citizenship and engagement have become more and more focused on social efficiency. While there are plenty of issues with the higher education systems of the past, the origins of universities inherently focused on democratic equality. Part of this shift in priorities can be linked to modern accountability measures and funding streams. The links between universities and the state have increased exponentially. As Dee discusses, these links have made state oversight of universities much more intensive. While there is absolutely value to university oversight, the metrics used to hold universities accountable to the state severely limit the potential mission and scope of universities.

First, states want to see extensive research dollars and high graduation rates. These are tangibles that legislators can tote to voters; these also make it a lot more difficult for universities to use money for things like financial aid and disincentivizes accepting students who aren’t “sure things” to graduate. These practices are not uncommon amongst publics, and I have a problem with McKeown-Moak’s piece that encourages looking at current industry practices when creating shared mission statements and accountability measures. The current industry standard is limiting and inflexible, and will continue to make it harder for universities to do what they want to do. That being said, a lot of this leans on the assumption that university administrators have the best intentions (which is not always the case), and should be noted when talking about accountability measures.