QUOTE(NuclearWarfare @ Thu 14th October 2010, 5:13am)
QUOTE
First, it wouldn’t have formal admissions, said Mr. Staley, director of the Harvey Goldberg Center for Excellence in Teaching at Ohio State University. People could enter and exit as they wished. It would consist of voluntary and self-organizing associations of teachers and students “not unlike the original idea for the university, in the Middle Ages,†he said. Its curriculum would be intellectually fluid.
Interesting. Sounds a lot like Harvard Extension School, actually, though that of course is not a perfect analogy.
Medieval universities. Voluntary but quite exclusive, the congregation being self-elected by its members. Exhaustive series of exams lasting eight years or more, with varying degrees of rank awarded on the basis of expertise and skill in the chosen subject matter. And a charter - a sort of certificate of incorporation - awarded by the king or queen. The very essence of the establishment.
QUOTE
And instead of tenure, it would have professors “whose longevity would be determined by the community,â€
There seems to be confusion here between the medieval idea of a university 'community' - namely the masters or dons, who self-elect on the basis of the procedures outlined above - and the Wikipedian idea.
I sense a deep disconnect with reality.
[edit] And having just read this ...
http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/ED...herEduca/163579