Western Kentucky University: Sets Higher Aspirations

Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a strong regional university, serving a region of Kentucky that very much needs higher education. WKU wants to become "world-class" and it wants to do some things that its big sister, the University of Kentucky, does. As you can imagine, this situation has raised some brows in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

I have a suggestion on how to handle this situation. WKU and any other higher education institution in the state should have the right and some help in attaining higher standards. They should be allowed to move up the food chain, provided that they do not duplicate services offered by other institutions.

The Kentucky situation is a case where the seeds of a revolution are being planted in the "middle" of the higher education food chain. UK is at the top as the flagship research institution, the regional universities fall in the middle and the community colleges make up the foundation of the pyramid. Handled properly, the quest for quality and improvement could lead to positive changes for the entire Kentucky higher education system.

This could be an opportunity for innovation.

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