| Abstract: | The author, the Vice‐Chancellor and President of Central Queensland University in Australia, argues that globalization and the new information technologies permit a deconstruction of the functions of the vertically integrated typical university. Thus, some of these functions, particularly the offering of instructional services, the evaluation of acquired knowledge and skills, and the credentialling of graduates can be accomplished separately, often electronically, at locations distant from the main campus, and at a lower cost to the learner than attendance at a typical and traditional university. The author describes the operation of four for‐profit branch “outlets” of his university, a public institution, in partnership with Campus Management Services, a private for‐profit business. He considers that such for‐profit operations are the wave of the future and that if traditional typical universities survive it will only be as the result of their socialization and character‐building functions. |
