What is a university degree for? What can it offer to students? Is it only about getting a job? How can we measure the quality of an undergraduate degree? Paul Ashwin shows how, around the world, economic arguments have come to dominate our thinking about the purpose and nature of university education. He argues that we have lost a sense of the educational purposes of an undergraduate degree and the ways in which going to university can transform students' lives. Ashwin challenges a series of myths related to the purposes, educational processes, and quality of an undergraduate education. He argues that these myths have fuelled the current misunderstanding of the educational aspects of higher education and explores what is needed to reinvigorate our understanding of a university education. Throughout, Ashwin draws on his deep engagement with international research to offer an accessible and thought-provoking analysis of the nature of university education.

Table of Contents:1. Introduction: Not Another Book about the Higher Education Crisis! Part I: Challenging Myths about University Education 2. Challenging Myths about the Purposes of University Education 3. Challenging Myths about the Key Elements of University Education 4. Challenging Myths about Measuring the Quality of University Education Part II: A Case for University Education 5. The Purposes of University Education 6. The Key Elements of University Education 7. Measuring the Quality of University Education 8. Transforming and Sustaining University Education Endnotes References Index