Call for Papers

This second cross disciplinary conference marks the continuation of an inter-disciplinary research project to provide a vigorous forum for the examination and evaluation of university and college education. Committed to the tradition of liberal education, the inherent value of the pursuit of learning and the principle that knowledge must be an end in itself, the forum will use the conference series to broadly examine the nature and aims of university and college education, its guiding principles, its practical functions, and its role in society.

In particular papers, reports, presentations, and workshops are invited on any of the following themes:

• what a university or college should be; where the idea of what a university or college is should come from; what higher education 'is'; what the aims of higher education should be; what language best expresses the idea of education.
• the nature of education; the role of liberal arts education; 'instruction', 'training' and 'vocational training'; the changing roles of and between universities, colleges, and polytechnics; the 'usefulness' of education; the 'value' of education; learning and distance learning; learning and open learning.
• the changing landscapes of education; 'students', 'pupils', 'learners' and 'customers'; 'lecturer', 'teacher', 'tutor', 'mentor'; the rise and impact of student services; course review and evaluation; modularization; the costs of education.
• the 'business' of the university - academic freedom and the rise of managerialism; wealth creation; intellectual capital; intellectual copyright; knowledge and research; knowledge and teaching; the preservation of knowledge in libraries, museums, galleries; the diffusion of knowledge through publishing, multimedia, and the Internet.
• external issues impacting on education: funding education; private sector involvement; government involvement; Academic Audit; Research Assessment Exercise; QAA; Teaching Quality Assessment.
• internal issues impacting on education: key skills, transferable skills; access to education - ties with schools; life-long education; adult education; returning to learning; education as a 'right'; fees, grants, and loans.
• the role of the university and college in society; the contexts of the university and college; the needs of society; reconceiving the place and work of the university and college.

Papers will be considered on related themes. 300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday 4th April 2003. Full draft papers should be submitted by Friday 13th June 2003.

300 word abstracts should be submitted to both the Organising Joint Chairs; abstracts may be in Word, WordPerfect, PDF or RTF formats.

The conference is sponsored by Inter-Disciplinary.Net, Learning Solutions, and BRG as part of the 'At the Interface' programme of Higher Education projects. It aims to bring together people from different areas and interests to share ideas and explore various discussions which are innovative and exciting.

One themed volume has already been published from this project; a second volume is in preparation. All papers accepted for and presented at this conference will be published in an ISBN eBook. Selected papers will be developed for publication in a themed hard copy volume.

The project is also to be supported by an e-mail discussion group and ISSN e-journal. For further details and information about the project please see http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/ioe.htm For specific information about the conference please see the site listed below or contact Dr Rob Fisher.