Social Responsibility in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Higher education institutions and universities represent a vital part of any society and are continuously faced with numerous new environmental and social challenges. Universities are moving toward corporatization, which calls for them to be good corporate citizens. In order to meet the expectations of the stakeholders, they need to adopt a social responsibility strategy just like other organizations. This chapter discusses how universities could achieve development, sustainability, and competitiveness through applying university social responsibility (USR). It presents a case study of USR, namely UNIC Mentor Youth Guidance Programme applied by the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. The initiative connects university students to at-risk youth, so that they act as agents of social change and mentors. The chapter describes the benefits, long-term effects, and impact of this particular USR activity, both for the organization itself and the various stakeholders.