ABSTRACT
T h o s e o f u s w ho w o rk i n universities ar e awas h i n a sea o f voices l ament in g
the en d o f academi c standards , d isc ipl inar y r igour an d th e genera l bank -
ruptcy o f the enterpris e i n w h i c h w e ar e engaged . Cen t r a l t o thi s sens e o f
despair an d declin e i s the lamen t tha t the l ibera l art s have los t thei r prid e o f
place as the centr e o r focal poin t o f the universi t y as a dist inctive inst i tut ional
f o r m . I n th e sam e ve in, a l ibera l educat io n i s no longer , apparently , th e cen -
tral mandat e o f insti tutions w h i c h ar e caugh t u p i n pu r su in g excellenc e i n
research, increase d efficienc y th rough th e applicat io n of learning technolo -
gies and managemen t practice s a ime d a t heightened accountabil i ty . L i f e l o n g
learning, especially, though no t on l y in its vocationalist forms, can be under -
stood a s ye t anothe r s y m p t o m o f this crisis .
