The University as a Business: A Chance or a Blunder?

Abstract

There exists a general confusion on what the university is and what it is for. Universities are in crisis, and as never before, they must justify their usefulness for society. It is claimed that in order to answer that crisis, universities should become business-like entities governed and managed in terms of demand/supply and efficiency. We claim—and exemplify that claim with the case of Philippine universities—that no university in a classical sense can be turned into a business without destroying it for the two domains have different founding principles, values, norms, and actions. We argue that the classical university is an important specie in the cultural environment and it is worthwhile to defend its existence, even if other knowledge-producing and education-providing institutions are developed and provide intellectual and human resources for the market.