Restructuring Academia For The Next Century

While it can be argued that the fruits of a successful education can have a long ripening time, it is nevertheless important that our universities and colleges examine potential new operating structures that could improve effectiveness. Such structures should have as performance criteria: (1) to increase the impact of universities and colleges in education, research/scholarship, and outreach (for land-grant institutions); and (2) to raise satisfaction among faculty and staff over the extent to

| 6 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
6:00
Share

Recently, a chasm has developed between current faculty expertise and its potential applications for societal benefit and the restrictive academic boundaries within which our faculty and staff must perform. Yet, potential changes in academia could help colleges and universities meet the highest expectations of a currently skeptical public.

The need for academic reform has been evident in recent curricular changes. In many universities, traditional department- based curricula have been folded into more integrated approaches to learning. Such changes reflect the need to educate students using a different curricular organization.

In some cases, these changes in curriculum are indicative of the routes that universities can take to enhance relevance. For example, many institutions have developed cross-disciplinary core curricula that draw faculty from several departments to provide students with an integrated educational base. Such training can enhance the effectiveness of subsequent academic specialization that a student may pursue.

These courses also provide ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • Rodney Dietert

    This person does not yet have a bio.

Published In

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio