Institutions of education, and the system of which they are a part,
face a host of unprecedented challenges from forces in society that
affect and are influenced by these very institutions and their
communities of learners and educators. Among these forces are sweeping
demographic changes, shrinking provincial budgets, revolutionary
advances in information and telecommunication technologies,
globalization, competition from new educational providers, market
pressures to shape educational and scholarly practices toward
profit-driven ends, and increasing demands and pressures for fundamental
changes in public policy and public accountability relative to the role
of higher education in addressing pressing issues of communities and
the society at large. Anyone of these challenges would be significant on
their own, but collectively they increase the complexity and difficulty
for education to sustain or advance the fundamental work of serving the
public good.
Through a forum on education, we can agree to:
Strengthening the relationship between higher education and society will
require a broad-based effort that encompasses all of education, not
just individual institutions, departments and associations.
Piecemeal
solutions can only go so far; strategies for change must be informed by
a shared vision and a set of common objectives. A "movement" approach
for change holds greater promise for transforming academic culture than
the prevailing "organizational" approach.
Mobilizing change will
require strategic alliances, networks, and partnerships with a broad
range of stakeholders within and beyond education.
The Common
Agenda is specifically designed to support a "movement" approach to
change by encouraging the emergence of strategic alliances among
individuals and organizations who care about the role of higher
education in advancing the ideals of a diverse democratic system through
education practices, relationships and service to society.