Undergraduate education and accountability. Taken together, these realities make a compelling case that higher education in general, and Michigan State, in particular, must change. Let me elaborate briefly. Many organizations, other than universities, are actively generating and disseminating knowledge. They are doing so in very sophisticated ways to respond to an information society.
Technology now links information users and creators.
Universities cannot rely on their traditional role as the primary generators and conveyors of sophisticated knowledge. Successful universities must define new and distinctive roles. The public outcry for reform and accountability in undergraduate education grows. Any failure to respond to these concerns threatens the future of major universities. Competition has become intense among universities, just as it has in the private sector.