The Universities in Western Europe: A Personal View of Certain Trends

Abstract

Jacques Robert (President of Paris II), opening the Pont-a-Mousson Round Table on 'Attacks on the University Today', organised by IAUPL last September, distinguished three kinds of external and three of internal threats to the 1ln1versity of today: ideological, political and social; psychological, political and moral. Participants from three continents broadly supported his contention that the external situation was particularly grave and likely to worsen. With the exception of Venezuela, the most worrying attacks were emerging as the darker part of the growing interest taken by the general public and by in higher education; they come in the wake of a welcomed expansion of public funding of teaching and research during the past two decades like a hidden sting in the tail. Professor Walter Metzger's seminal book Dimensions of Acadermc Freedom (I969), had exposed many of the basic forces which had led to the 'delocalisation' of the neutral, isolated 'Ivory Tower' which used to protect its scholars from outside interference. In an 'open' system, the university teacher finds himself torn between two conflicting imperatives: to pursue knowledge for knowledge's sake; and to pursue only socially 'useful' objectives. Presented by M. Robert in dialectic form the Round Table identified this as the principal feature and problem for academe. Companion to it were a number of other features which included awareness that the attitude of the general public to universities had become more and more hostile, parroting a number of groundless beliefs such as that we function for less than six months in a year. For much of the evidence of what has been taking place in Europe one can turn to the Report of the Council of Europe, Changing Tertiary Education in Modern European Societythe de Moor Report. Uttered in December I978, after seven years of work, the Report is a substaniial review undertaken by selected professors on behalf of the Council of Europe. It consists of seven separate country studies and a summary with recommendations. Three 'social goals' of which 'preparation of the labour market' is one, and the 'personal goal' are suggested; it deals with pre-tertiary education (i.e. up to the age of I6 years) briefly, and extensively with aspects of higher and tertiary education. The Report recommends inter alia that governments and institutions clearly define criteria of effectiveness such as maximally acceptable proportions of drop-outs, acceptable length of study, minimum levels of performance of students, desired research activities.... they should pay attention to a balanced allocation of time for teaching, research and administration . . . and to research productivity of teachers. should increase efficiency in the institutions by furthering a democratic governance system which allows the functioning of competent admlnistrators and they should increase cost consciousness by iance systems which allow an efficient use of resources while taking into account both the principle of self-administration and the rule of accountability for public funds. With regard to policy goals generally, Governments should explicitly accept as goals of their