Today I attended a series of seminars at UCLA regarding the role of higher education in the 21st Century. After six hours, I can distill most of the presentations into a struggle between two opposing ideas.
The first idea argued that academic studies found in effective learning centers (i.e. colleges) promote the cultivation of experts in every given field, and this system must be adhered to in the future in order to stave off a homogenization of mediocre learning methods that are becoming prevalent in today's digitally-modern education. The second idea argued that rapid globalization must account for the new majority: a diverse student populace that craves localized access to higher education. Each speaker argued their points well, but each speaker also leaned heavily toward one of these ideas or the other. Very subtly, these diametrically-fueled arguments slowed down the debate process in general, and there were even moments when presenters failed to maintain a healthy dialogue, which resulted in some pointed remarks and, at times, a lack of listening across the aisle, if you will.
Perhaps these concepts do not have to be opposed to one another; I am of a mind to believe that there must be some way to combine the two ideas. Education of any level must be accessible to all kinds of eager people in coming decades, but I also feel that the level of accountability found in most universities nowadays must be preserved.
Simply put: access is tantamount, but quality must not be sacrificed for permeability.
Draw your own conclusions.
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