Tensions between two rather contradictory views of higher education in the United States have increased over the past 30 years. The first emphasizes the traditional notion that the American academy consists of a community of scholars, who, supported by public and private endowments and shielded from severe economic vicissitudes, endeavor to order, expand and pass on knowledge that ultimately will benefit society. In this view, most American universities center upon their colleges of liberal arts and sciences, places where students and faculty not only learn together but also reflect philosophically upon how their knowledge affects the broader society. The second emphasizes practical aspects of higher education. It views these institutions as profitable markets for private suppliers of goods and services and as efficient training grounds for supplying intelligent malleable workers to private and public employers. American universities sell knowledge and credentials to diverse customers: not only students, but also private and public institutions that expect to profit from their investments of tuition, contracts or grants. This paper argues that the practical view has risen to prominence, and that in combination with new instructional technologies, it threatens to overwhelm the traditional view. If this argument proves correct, profound changes will occur. Faculties will be downsized as universities outsource instructional services; well-trained graduate students and part-time instructors will administer prepackaged courses; and considerably more instruction will take place from distant locations in real time, and also asynchronously. Tenured faculty as we know them will become rarities as universities adopt more flexible labor practices in a businesslike response to worldwide market forces. On a broader scale democracy will suffer if the idea of university graduates becoming responsible civic leaders is lost. If higher education?s central mission is to provide citizens with the skills to thrive in the market economy, then why should the university graduates concern themselves with public policy and civic affairs? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]