For those of a certain age and educational background, it is hard to

Question

For those of a certain age and educational background, it is hard to think of higher education without thinking of ancient institutions. Some universities are a venerable age—the University of Bologna was founded in 1088 and Oxford University in 1096—and many of them have a strong sense of tradition. The truly old ones make the most of their pedigrees, and those of a more recent vintage work hard to create an aura of antiquity.

And yet these tradition-loving (or -creating) institutions are currently ending a thunderstorm of changes so fundamental that some say the very idea of the university is being challenged. Universities are experimenting with new ways of funding (most notably through student fees), forging partnerships with private companies, and engaging in mergers and acquisitions. Such changes are tugging at the ivy’s roots.

This is happening for four reasons. The first is the democratization of higher education “massification,” in the language of the educational profession. In the rich world, massification has been going on for some time. The proportion of adults with higher educational qualifications in the OECD countries almost doubled between 1975 and 2000, from 22 percent to 41 percent. But most of the rich countries are still struggling to digest this huge growth in numbers. And now massification is spreading to the developing world. China doubled its student population in the late 1990s, and India is trying to follow suit.

The second reason is the rise of the knowledge economy. The world is in the grips of a “soft revolution” in which knowledge is replacing physical resources as the main driver of economic growth. The OECD calculates that between 1985 and 1997, the contribution of knowledge-based industries to total value added increased from 51 percent to 59 percent in Germany and from 45 percent to 51 percent in Britain. The best companies are now devoting at least a third of their investment to knowledge-intensive intangibles, such as R&D, licensing, and marketing. Universities are among the most important engines of the knowledge economy. Not only do they produce the brain workers who man it, they also provide much of its backbone, from laboratories to libraries to computer networks.

The third factor is globalization. The death of distance is transforming academia just as radically as it is transforming business. The number of people from OECD countries studying abroad has doubled over the past 20 years, to 1.9 million; universities are opening campuses all around the world; and a growing number of countries are trying to turn higher education into an export industry.

The fourth is competition. Traditional universities are being forced to compete for students and research grants, and private companies are trying to break into a sector that they regard as “the new health care.” The World Bank calculates that global spending on higher education amounts to $300 billion a year, or 1 percent of global economic output. There are more than 80 million students worldwide, and 3.5 million people are employed to teach them or look after them.   1 
 D 
 1. Changes in tradition-oriented universities’ education are caused by

(A) increased enrollments
(B) lack of financing
(C) online education
(D) more qualified students
(E) lack of resources

2 
 B 
 2. The best possible title for the passage would be

(A) “Massification”
(B) “The Brains Business”
(C) “The Decline of Tradition-Loving Universities”
(D) “Downfall of Academic Dogma”
(E) “Globalization of Higher Education”

3 
 E 
 3. According to the passage, mass higher education is forcing universities to become

(A) more democractic
(B) better managed
(C) more liberal
(D) more teaching-oriented
(E) more competitive

4  
 B 
 4. Younger universities try to

(A) compete with older ones
(B) create an image like that of more traditional ones
(C) diversify their student bodies
(D) rely less on outside financing
(E) diversify income sources

5 
 A 
 5. Universities have had to reexamine their mission because

(A) there are more and better-educated high school graduates
(B) state funding is declining
(C) state-run universities are being privatized
(D) good faculty is in short supply
(E) of the rise in distance learning

6 
 B 
 6. In business terms, it can be said that higher education has become

(A) more profitable
(B) an export industry
(C) better managed
(D) bottom line-oriented
(E) customer-oriented

Source: Barron's GMAT

honey1 · Answer

can you plz help me with question 1,2,3,and 5
THANK YOU

Sajjad1994 · Answer

I have to admit, unfortunately, this is not a good quality passage. Below is the explanation.

Official Explanation

1. Changes in tradition-oriented universities’ education are caused by

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

Massification, as it is termed in  paragraph 3.  While there are increased enrollments  (A) , these are a function of massification. None of the other alternatives is mentioned.

Answer: D

2. The best possible title for the passage would be

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

The passage is about the business of education, or  “brains.”  Alternatives  (A)  and  (E)  are mentioned, but they don’t touch on the central idea. There is no basis for  (C)  or  (D) . Oxford University and other tradition-oriented universities are not in decline.  (D)  is not mentioned at all.

Answer: B

3. According to the passage, mass higher education is forcing universities to become

Difficulty Level:   Medium

Explanation

Traditional universities are being forced to compete for students  (last paragraph) . There is no mention of the other alternatives.

Answer: E

5. Universities have had to reexamine their mission because

Difficulty Level:   Medium

Explanation

See  paragraph 3.  There are better-educated high school graduates, forcing universities to undergo change  (paragraph 3).

Answer: A

Makhabbat · Answer

Hello! Will it be possible to share with official answers for 4 ?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. Younger universities try to

Difficulty Level:   Medium

Explanation

See  paragraph 1.  The old universities attempt to maintain their image, whereas younger ones try to  “create an aura of antiquity” (paragraph 1) . It is true that younger universities compete with older ones, but that is the second-best answer.

Answer: B

ducchi1301 · Answer

2. The best possible title for the passage would be

(A) “Massification” 
  (B) “The Brains Business” (This idea expands on the idea that higher education is developing excessively, thereby being conducive to generating a high-quality area of business.)  
 (C) “The Decline of Tradition-Loving Universities” 
 (D) “Downfall of Academic Dogma” 
 (E) “Globalization of Higher Education”

3. According to the passage, mass higher education is forcing universities to become

(A) more democractic 
 (B) better managed 
 (C) more liberal 
 (D) more teaching-oriented 
 (E) more competitive    (This idea is stated in the last paragraph.)   
 
  6. In business terms, it can be said that higher education has become

(A) more profitable 
  (B) an export industry (.....growing number of countries are trying to turn higher education into an export industry.)  
 (C) better managed 
 (D) bottom line-oriented 
 (E) customer-oriented

For those of a certain age and educational background, it is hard to

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For those of a certain age and educational background, it is hard to

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