What's the point of university?

Ideas53:59What are universities for?

*Originally published on September 5, 2023.

For Rylan Agecoutay, 16, a university education should set you up for success and happiness. It's to discover who you want to be and what you want to do for the rest of your life. 

"To me, university is kind of like a starting point into a new life," he said. 

Still, when Agecoutay finishes high school, he's unsure whether university is the best next step. He says there are lots of other ways to figure out who he wants to be.

"For me, I'm thinking about university but I'm not too quite sure about it yet," he said.

According to the most recent data released from Statistics Canada, the average student loan debt for a university graduate with a bachelor's degree is $28,000. The total amount owed to the federal government for all students is almost $24 billion.

We've reframed universities as job training institutions.... It's an emaciated view of the historic ideal of a university.- Joel Westheimer

With more debt and an ever-tightening job market, it's no surprise the cost of going to university is deterring some prospective students from applying. And for those choosing to make the investment, experts say the price tag is affecting what students choose to study and how they view the purpose of a university degree.

But is the true purpose of a university education in a democratic society simply to secure a well-paying career? Or are we missing the point entirely?

In May 2023, IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed moderated a public discussion at the University of Regina focused on one question: What are universities for? 

"We've reframed universities as job training institutions, but that's a very individualized view," said Joel Westheimer, a professor and former university research chair in democracy and education at the University of Ottawa. 

"It's an emaciated view of the historic ideal of a university," he said.

Linda Tuhiwai Smith's 20-year-old grandson moved in with her after dropping out of university. She said he felt disengaged with the style of learning and didn't see it as a viable pathway to a job or career. 

"One of the interesting things about universities is they're not good at letting go of some ideas," said Tuhiwai Smith, a professor at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in New Zealand who's won awards for her contributions to Māori education.

"At one level they are about change, but [at] another level they're about the status quo."

Since she and her husband are both academics, they took it for granted that their grandson would thrive in the university setting.

"He is not buying into any of that at the moment, which is an interesting challenge," she said. 

"And I know it's not just my grandson. I think there's a generation who are in their 20s who've just come through COVID who maybe are not sold on the idea of a university."

Jonathan R. Cole, professor and provost emeritus at Columbia University, agrees there are many ways in which universities need to change, "partly because of the failure of the current system," he said, " but more because of the evolution of the society in which [students] are located."

'Immense frustration' and isolation, student says

Holly Funk, 27, is currently studying psychology and religious studies at the University of Regina. Each class costs her upwards of $1,000 per semester, but she said the experience doesn't always live up to expectations.

According to Funk, who's also the editor of her campus newspaper, a lot of students say they're expected to do the majority of learning on their own. They've told her they're not receiving the level of support or engagement from professors they imagined when choosing to enroll.  

"There is immense frustration," she said. 

"It's way more of a business model now. There is a lot of focus on recruitment and getting people into the university, bringing them into programs. But not so much of a focus on while you're here."

Funk said she's spoken with many honours and graduate students who told her they feel disappointed with the lack of collaboration and mentorship. They don't understand why they're paying so much money to feel so alone.

Academic and community leaders 

Universities have always been contradictory and contested spaces of learning and unlearning, according to Malinda Smith, vice-provost and associate vice-president of research (equity, diversity and inclusion) at the University of Calgary.

Even though many of these institutions were established during colonial periods in the context of segregation and apartheid, she says their attempts to be more inclusive help enable a more robust and inclusive democracy.

Both faculty and students agree — universities need to innovate.

Funk says the ideal university experience would foster independent academic growth and teach students how to become better members of their communities. 

"Where [universities] should be shining is helping people in the community to figure out what can be better and how we can work together within disciplines or between disciplines to make things better," she said.

"And then when we graduate, we go out into communities … and take that growth and expand it further, work with more people, find more collaborations to build on that."
 

Add your thoughts to this discussion. What do you think universities are for? Email us at [email protected].

Panel of experts in the program:

Malinda Smith, vice-provost and associate vice-president, research (equity, diversity and inclusion) at the University of Calgary. She's also co-editor of The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities.

Jonathan R. Cole, John Mitchell Mason professor of the university and provost and dean of faculties, emeritus at Columbia University. He has written several studies about American higher education, including The Great American University.

Linda Tuhiwai Smith, distinguished professor at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in New Zealand and the winner of many major awards for her research and contributions to Māori education. She's also the author of the bestselling book, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples.

Joel Westheimer, professor and former university research chair in democracy and education at the University of Ottawa. He's the author of several studies on civic education including, What Kind of Citizen?

*This episode was produced by Melissa Gismondi.