The current model of university education is excellent preparation for a job in the 19th century, says Professor David Helfand, the outgoing president and vice-chancellor of Quest University. The only problem is that we live in the 21st century.
鈥淭he notion of education, with someone like me with a full beaker of information, pouring little bits of it into your empty beakers and then asking you to regurgitate it on command, makes no sense whatsoever,鈥� he said during a lecture at the Squamish Public Library on Dec. 11.
It鈥檚 like academic bulimia 鈥� gorging and bringing it back up 鈥� as one of his applicants put it.
Quest set out to change that and, in the end, reimagined education completely guided by just one goal: to create the most effective, engaging, modern and valuable experience possible over four years.
However, building a completely new university with an entirely new way of delivering education didn鈥檛 happen overnight.
鈥淣ext August will mark the 10th year since the first day I came out here,鈥� explained Helfand, a New Yorker at heart and a professor of astrophysics on leave from New York鈥檚 Columbia University, for which he鈥檚 worked for 38 years.
鈥淚agreed to come for one day, to consult on this notion of building a new university. That one day turned into a slightly longer commitment.
鈥淎t first, it was just curiosity and fascination with the idea of starting with a completely blank piece of paper. Being able to design a university that actually made sense in the 21st 肠别苍迟耻谤测.鈥�
Having built it, he knew it would attract a new type of student, so he stayed on a little longer to see what they would be like and to see whether Quest would work. He then commuted back and forth for a while, juggling teaching on both coasts. But one day, just as he was about to board the plane back to New York, he was asked to become president.
It鈥檚 been a transformational experience not without its trials and tribulations but, having opened in 2007 with just 73 students, Quest now receives more than 900 applications for its 180 student spots. The idea is spreading as universities around the world adopt Quest鈥檚 model. That, says Helfand, is the mark of success, as are the lives led by his graduates.
Helfand is now moving on from Quest and will return to Columbia. 鈥淭he construction is complete. The full student body complement will be here next September鈥� so it seems like the obvious time to tie it up with a bow and hand it off to someone new who can bring new energy and vision to what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�
Having flipped education on its head, the transition back to teaching hundreds of anonymous students in massive lecture theatres may be uneasy. It is, after all, the total opposite of the experience at Quest, where classes are both interactive and collaborative and have, on average, 16 students per class.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be painful, and it鈥檚 not clear how long it鈥檒l last,鈥� he said of teaching at Columbia.
Asked whether they鈥檒l be glad to have him back, he laughed. 鈥淚鈥檓 not so sure about that actually. I can cause trouble. I think it鈥檚 a good kind of trouble, but I鈥檓 not so sure the administration does.鈥�
Helfand will be with Quest until the end of next summer. Announcements for the future president of Quest are expected within the next two months.
