Abstract

Should the aim of higher education be to increase upward mobility? This chapter asks us to reconsider mobility as an ideal. It makes the case that upward mobility has significant costs to the higher education sector, the individuals who experience it, and our society. Focusing on mobility obscures these negative effects. A central conclusion is that shifting the focus away from mobility would allow the university to focus on delivering the educational goods that are inherent to its mission – knowledge, personal transformation, and value acquisition. This doesn’t mean that we give up on equal opportunity, but rather that we focus on ensuring these educational goods are available to all who wish to pursue them.