Higher Education fulfills multiple roles that go beyond educating students. Specialists often identify three distinct but interrelated missions: (i) teaching and learning; (ii) research; and (iii) community engagement.
Higher education can make an important contribution to building a stronger society, ending extreme poverty, and boosting shared prosperity. It can serve the community by contributing knowledge and advanced skills as well as basic competencies and research. Knowledge plays a growing role in the global economy, driving economic growth and productivity. Economic studies have shown a positive relationship between education and economic growth, particularly those that take into account the quality of education. Higher Education fulfills multiple roles that go beyond educating students. Specialists often identify three distinct but interrelated missions: (i) teaching and learning; (ii) research; and (iii) community engagement

Higher education systems around the world face a growing demand for enrollment that is increasingly driven by non-traditional students. Limited capacity to respond to demand among existing public institutions has, in turn, led to significant growth in private provision. Furthermore, there is increased demand among employers for skilled and professional workers and increased importance in modern economies for research and development to increase competitiveness. In this context, governments need to explore (i) the growing demand for higher education; (ii) the role of access, including equity; (iii) the quality and relevance of teaching and its implications for employability; (iv) the role of research and development in higher education; and (v) the role of systems reform within higher education.
To address these challenges, higher education needs to address: (i) the growing demand for higher education; (ii) the role of access, including equity; (iii) the quality and relevance of teaching and its implications for employability; (iv) the role of research and development in higher education; and (v) the role of systems reform within higher education.
For more information, see Chapter 2: Higher Education in Development: Trends and Challenges