The Triple Mission of the Modern University: Component Interplay and Performance Analysis from Italy

Abstract

We explore the interplay between the three missions of the modern university (teaching, research, and ‘third mission’: education, scientific productivity, and socio-economic interaction with non-academic environments), with a focus on the Italian public university. We execute a path analysis compliant with the isomorphic ‘one-size-fits-all’ university management framework, revisited under a stakeholder approach in light of students’ needs and expectations. We investigate the impact of the university’s knowledge-based missions on student outcome: student satisfaction and early job placement (data from nearly 400,000 respondents per year from 2011–2014) epitomizing both educational effectiveness/attractiveness and competitiveness. Although performances do not appear to all be correlated with each other, there is a positive relationship between research and third mission quality, and finally between the socio-economic mission and student satisfaction. This kind of mission-related evaluation can shape the institutional decisions (government policy and funding) and influence management priorities or behavior by revealing the way the quality of academic productivity and knowledge transfer to communities can create value from the point of view of the core stakeholder (university students). Our findings across missions offer a new perspective, while the innovative structural method helps to reconcile the three institutional goals in one big picture.

Building a Culture of Entrepreneurial Initiative in Rural Regions Based on Sustainable Development Goals: A Case Study of University of Applied Sciences–Municipality Innovation Partnership

“…However, other important considerations which this study uncovered inside the TMU include international orientation ("international"), focus on the society and responsibility-not only the economic growth contribution ("society", "responsibility", "association"), as well as knowledge-related activities ("knowledge"). The importance of the socio-economic link inside the TMU has already been noticed by some other case studies of the TMU in Italy [43]. These results as a whole also confirm the relatively disproportionate sidelining of environmental aspects in modern TMU partnerships, as identified in the previous literature [44].…”

Academic Third Mission through Community Engagement: An Empirical Study in European Universities

“…The second step involves weighing the differences in standard deviation and spreading them across the 9-point scale. A square matrix is used to calculate the standard deviation differences (1).…”

“…In order to facilitate the implementation of the above strategies, the study showed that there are still several areas in which universities can improve their engagement with citizens through the Academic Third Mission [1,4]. In order to effectively involve citizens in the decision-making process and ensure that their needs are being met, universities should consider implementing a variety of good practices.…”

“…Academic Third Mission is a priority on universities' agendas, focusing on the role of higher education institutions in contributing to the socio-economic development of their regions and communities through activities such as technology transfer, community outreach, and applied research [1,2]. This mission is in addition to the traditional roles of teaching and research, which are often referred to as the "first" and "second" missions, respectively [3][4][5].…”

Exploring How Tutors in Higher Education Perceive Their Work and What Direction They Think it Should Take in the Future: A Case Study

“…Criticism and resistance revolve around the university's role in society and the decline of the disciplines (Frederick, 2021). The university has to ride out the multiple pressures in order to advance in its triple roleteaching/learning, research activities and knowledge transferwhile trying to improve its primordial function (education) through scientific and socio-economic missions (Taliento, 2022). Teachers, meanwhile, are under constant psychological pressure given the many varied activities they have to carry out (Lewis et al, 2015;Whitehead et al, 2016).…”