"Jobs and Universities: A Tale of Two Futures"

Christopher Newfield, Director of Research at the Independent Social Research Foundation in London. Formerly, he was Distinguished Professor of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a leading scholar of Critical University Studies,
Public disappointment with universities has reached epidemic proportions, and a common complaint is that they do a poor job of preparing students to find a job, especially given how much they cost.
Newfield agrees with the critics that universities are ineffective as job training programs-this is not what universities are meant to do. While a BA clearly helps graduates find good employment, the focus on jobs has perversely hurt the educational core that allows this-intensive learning of complex knowledge in a range of situations and fields. Newfield contends that business and government should be held responsible for employment, and universities held responsible for learning. The partnership between society and higher education needs a radical overhaul, and Newfield suggests why universities need to focus on solving the world’s enormously difficult problems, and how they can best educate people to do this.