Eminently readable ... Ashwin indicates that 'The intention is to contribute to the reinvigoration of debates about the educational purposes of higher education'; in this the book is an undoubted success ... I sincerely hope that a great many [people] will engage with the ideas it provides.

Higher Education

In a noisy world filled with a cacophony of sound bites, Paul Ashwin challenges the merits of the current narrative that higher education is failing to provide what students and society need to thrive in uncertain times. His incisive, reasoned analysis is both critical of certain institutional practices while persuasively explaining what the contemporary university needs to do to realize its overarching educational purposes.

George D. Kuh, Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Higher Education, Indiana University, USA

Undergraduate education is the primary activity of higher education but this reality is frequently lost whilst pursuing “world-class excellence”. Inequalities are rising, facts are denied and truth is what some-one wants it to be. Ashwin presents us with a timely and thought-provoking “manifesto”, demanding we re-affirm the transformational role that comes when students engage with bodies of knowledge and ideas. Our complex world necessitates having a critically-informed and engaged citizenry.

Ellen Hazelkorn, Professor Emerita, Technological University Dublin, and Joint Managing Partner, BH Associates, Ireland

This is a lively book which challenges much of the conventional wisdom about higher education. Throughout Paul Ashwin's strong belief in the transformational power of university teaching shines through.

David Willetts, President of the Advisory Council and Intergenerational Centre, Resolution Foundation

I found this book helped to settle my view of what HE is for, and would recommend it to anyone who has ever found themselves wondering what the point of teaching undergraduates is.

Michael O'Neill, Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry, University of Oxford, UK