University rankings have strongly influenced the values, practices, and policies universities adopt to be considered "good" universities. Thinking in terms of epistemic responsibilities (ERs) of universities provides a novel framework that could counter the traditional use of rankings and its negative effects, by accentuating other and…

It has long been established that universities have three main functions: to teach, to research and supervise research, and to benefit the communities and regions in which they are located. In reality, the third main function permeates the other two. There are clearly social responsibilities to the students and to the staff who teach them and/or…

"Accountability" is one of the buzzwords of contemporary U.S. higher education. The concept of accountability, deployed loosely, can spark dismay in the ranks of those held wrongly accountable. These may be individual staff members, faculty or administrators. At least two types of accountability exist in higher education; and it's…

Language and cultural support for immigrant workers is needed in Taiwan due to the increasing foreign employment in recent years. Adopting the concept of university social responsibility, educating immigrants in language and cultural learning encourages university members to solve societal problems, and to help the community meet the needs of the…

Research on sexual violence and sexual harassment (SVSH) in academia has grown since the 1980s; however, the needs of graduate student survivors have received comparably little attention, which contributes to forms of institutional betrayal that specifically impact graduate students. As part of a multi-campus study on experiences of SVSH and…

From the establishment of institutions of higher education in Colonial America until the 1970s, college administrators have acted "in loco parentis," or as legal guardians of students "in the place of parents." Under the legal regime of "in loco parentis," society and the legal system required school administrators to…

This article explores the notion of the responsibility of the university in the global context and attempts to link it to the concept of quality broadly conceived. Specifically, it is argued that there are certain similarities between the discourses of philosophy of higher education (global responsibility of the university) and political…

American public higher education is in crisis. After decades of public scrutiny over affordability, access, and quality, indictments of the institution as a whole abound. Campus leaders and faculty report a loss of public respect resulting from their alleged unresponsiveness to demands for change. But is this loss of confidence warranted? And how…

The UK higher education system has become increasingly competitive and stratified prompting calls for a reclaiming of the civic role of universities. This paper argues that, if HE is to reclaim its civic function then civic engagement needs to move beyond being a separate strand of activity for universities, instead becoming a guiding principle.…

The recent case of "Nguyen v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, et al.," considered the question of whether a college or university has the affirmative obligation to protect its students from all harm at all times, including suicide. Han Nguyen was a 25-year old graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) when he…

Given the political Right's attacks on U.S. academics as too liberal, we broach questions about knowledge production and curriculum development. We first explore how the Right has used arguments for freedom of speech and ideological diversity to undermine higher education's mission in the hope of polluting the public sphere with ideas that are…

Institutional betrayal, feelings of treason that occur when an institution fails to prevent or respond appropriately to wrongdoings committed within the context of an institution, contributes to exacerbated trauma for survivors of sexual violence (Smith & Freyd, 2014). Through a qualitative research study, we examine experiences of 10 sexual…

There is a crisis in American civic education. Survey after survey shows that recent college graduates are alarmingly ignorant of America's history and heritage. They cannot identify the term lengths of members of Congress, the substance of the First Amendment, or the origin of the separation of powers. They do not know the Father of the…

Public and private universities tasked with incorporating principles of social responsibility (SR) into their activities face the multiple challenges of addressing expectations of diverse stakeholders, establishing mechanisms for dialogue, and achieving greater information transparency. This article has two goals: first, to analyze whether SR has…

The article examines Danish pedagogue students' supervision during their placement periods in early childhood settings. Throughout the long history of Danish pedagogue education, discourses relating to the placement element have been located either within a "work" paradigm or a "scholastic" paradigm. These two understandings of…