Diversity Policies and National Contexts

Any discussion of diversity in higher and tertiary institutions would be incomplete without connecting the conversation to the broader aims of the University. Since its European origins, the University was founded on goals to pursue knowledge and, in more recent times, to provide that knowledge to a student body representative of its community and nation (Rhodes, 2001). Educators recognize that the role of the University now and in the future takes on greater importance given the central role that knowledge plays in the new millennium. Greater demands for and application of knowledge in our society suggest the need for more inclusive learning environments, where scholars and students develop and share their intellectual resources in more efficient and timely ways.