Shifting University Roles in the Knowledge-Based Society

Abstract

　 Industrial nations today are undergoing dramatic transformations as knowledge and information become the foundations for economic and social development. These changes also impact university organization. Issues of university reforms, including finance diversification, quality control, and institutional governance, are closely related to this transformation. In a knowledge-based economy, the university needs to develop financial resources in addition to the government, demonstrate to society the quality of university activities, and institute total quality management. Unfortunately, Japanese universities have not been interested in the practical use of knowledge because of long-term economic growth and educational expansion, as well as Japan’s lifelong employment system. Companies have provided practical knowledge to there employees by training them within the industry and have not expected universities to assume this function. However, the transformation to a knowledge-based society is changing the traditional relationship between the role of universities and market expectations. The five papers in this special issue clarify the new role of university in a knowledge society by examining current educational reforms, the relationship between competency and the university education, the needs of adult students in graduate school, and student transitions from university to work.