A University for the New Millennium

Restructuring for Survival

The University system is under severe economic pressure due to government cutbacks and structural changes in the economy. It will be more difficult to recruit professors who are experts in the leading edge technologies, and it will be more difficult for students to pay higher tuition fees. These economic forces will force universities to develop new strategies if they are to survive in the new millennium.


1. Synergies,synergies,synergies. Universities will be forced to seek out relationships with other successful people, companies, institutions, and universities as a way of improving programs with a minimum of additional expense.
2. *** University and *** University should continue to seek ways to cooperate and perhaps eventually merge their operations.
3. Teaching and research should be managed by separate bureaucracies. Education divisions should be set up in each department and these would be connected with the Faculty of Education. The education divisions in each department would network with local CEGEPS and high schools with the object of improving curricula and serving as information resource centers. All research would be placed in research centers. A new type of research professor position would be created in which an office, telephone, and basic stipend would be provided. The professor would be free to solicit outside contracts, and grants from which his salary could be enhanced.
4. The University Coop program should be strengthened in all faculties so as to provide a career path for as many programs as possible. The Coop offices should be relocated on the downtown campus which is more in keeping with the business nature of the program. A strengthened Coop program will give meaning to the university slogan “A Real Education for the Real world”.
5. The hard sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, etc. in the Faculty of Arts and Science should be moved to the Faculty of Engineering where synergies could develop. The faculty could be renamed the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
6. The grade point rule should be abolished as it creates additional administrative problems and reduces student enrolments.
7. Franchise arrangements should be developed with Microsoft, National Radio Institute, Learning Tree International so as to provide instruction in leading edge technologies.
8. Relationships with leading edge technology companies should be sought out. *** University needs professors and these companies need bright, young employees. It is too expensive to recreate complete engineering environments at universities, and it is too expensive to create teaching facilities at a company. The synergy of a university and a company can be exploited to the advantage of both.
9. Computers, computers, computers. A computer culture should be developed in the new Faculty of Science and Engineering. This would help the students in the work place and help *** University to keep abreast of new developments.
10. The Learning and Development center should be folded into the Education division.

http://www.colba.net/~htran/physics

JAM March 1999