Universities and Mid-Career Professionals: The Policy Potential

To date, few universities have become substantially involved in providing for the learning needs of professionals in mid-career. This paper argues the case for their doing so in the future. It begins with a review of the current provision of formal continuing professional development (CPD) – in which universities can be seen to perform only a limited role – and goes on to examine the attitudes of practitioners towards various forms of learning experience and their resulting interactions with the academic world. The reasons why such interactions are predominantly ad hoc and individualistic, rather than systematic and collective, are briefly considered before the opportunities for greater, more coherent mutual involvement are explored. The concluding section briefly reviews the policy decisions and organisational changes which appear to be needed before the full potentialities are realised.