Careers360 World-class universities: What can India learn? | Page 23
World class
university
Area
A University needs
space for reflection
and solitude
Large land parcels have been the hallmark of great universities though
compact but great campuses are also there. We discuss the global norm…
Stanford university with an 8,180
acres campus is the world’s largest,
and is home to 21 Nobel laureates
Does size impede
interaction?
by Team Careers360
T
he size of the university, its campus and student population can
greatly influence your learning
experience. Moving from a small
high school or a college to a big university can be unsettling or it could just be
the change you need. The size of the
university affects the number of courses
being offered, research laboratories, size
of classes, faculty interaction, extracurricular activities, sports facilities,
social milieu and so on. Large campuses
invariably will have more number of
courses and faculty members, and as
such more space would be available for
your academic, personal and social life.
A sprawling campus can indeed lead to a
stimulating experience.
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Careers
360
January 2014
The disadvantage quoted in terms of
less interaction with faculty and peers
does not really hold water since great
universities do not compromise on quality standards. For instance, as long as
student to faculty ratio is maintained
ideally, the students would not suffer.
Large universities have become highly
vertically integrated implying that they
can offer courses at the undergraduate,
graduate, and professional level. They
can also support medical education and
hospitals, centres of excellence; industry programmes, continuous education,
athletics, libraries, museums, entertainment and so on. There has been a rise
in interdisciplinary fields, for example,
nanotechnology, bioethics or humankinetics, which mean that within the
campus, if the university is big enough
one can opt for electives in the desired
domain and also be sure of learning
resources and expertise.
Where does world stand?
Yale University, with 835 acres, though
not as large as Stanford University
and others (See Graph) states that its
ability to fulfil its academic mission is
enhanced by insistence upon excellence
in its physical facilities and surroundings. The university has 440 buildings,