Higher education is a multifaceted industry. If you ask ten random people what higher education is all about, they will most-likely give you a wide array of answers. In 2014, I would say that higher education is about obtaining a credential that you can use to land your next job. What do you think? Is higher education just about getting a job? I'd love to say that the focus is on teaching and learning, but the prominence of luxury dorms, big money collegiate athletics, and the use of education as a political lever has me looking less at the aspects that I appreciate and more at the angles that seem to be driving today's discourse. Here are some questions about what higher education "is" along with some relevant tweets:

Higher education is about learning?

This is the idea behind pretesting, one of the most exciting developments in learning-­science. http://t.co/rWulF2zhOX — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) September 8, 2014

Higher education is a business?

Harvard has become a hedge fund and real estate firm with a university attached. http://t.co/LNfcLrADFg #SAchat #nonprofit — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) September 10, 2014

Higher education is about getting a job?

Career Services units should be present within every aspect of #HigherEd, because the reality is that degrees are about jobs (& learning). — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) September 9, 2014

College presidents want to help graduates find jobs but believe their institutions are struggling to do so http://t.co/mAJF4KN3C5 — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) August 29, 2014

Higher education is about research?

Higher education is about teaching?

"The fact is we are not trying to pick literary masterpieces...we want engagement with students." http://t.co/EGg2oNoVc3 — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) September 10, 2014

Higher education is about climbing walls and swimming pools?

Schools do a great job of marketing their swimming pools and luxury res halls...might be time to focus a bit more on post-uni-career-ops. — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) September 9, 2014

Higher education is about nation-building?

Demand for degrees grows in many fields that haven't required them http://t.co/Aw1dVYcuN2 via @insidehighered — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) September 9, 2014

Higher education is about luxury residence halls?

Btw, there's nothing wrong with lux res halls or amazing rec center pools. It's the way that schools market themselves that needs honesty. — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) September 9, 2014

Higher education is about leadership?

"Colleges are producing graduates with happy memories of their time in college but little sense of future purpose..." http://t.co/nMW8VNJqBx — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) September 3, 2014

Higher education is about brand-building?

Higher education is about athletics?

University athletic dept content producers are brought on to create a positive narrative and help to build a brand. http://t.co/N3MKFcAcBB — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) August 29, 2014

Higher education is about disruption?

Probably going to be difficult for disruption to happen in #StudentAffairs without a true sense of experimentation. Do we encourage SA R&D? — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) February 28, 2014

Higher education is about changing the world?

20 new ideas from UK universities that will change the world http://t.co/CJcyUU2XWL via @timeshighered — Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) June 17, 2014

Higher education is about __________?

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