Higher Education and Community Service: Developing the National University of Lesotho's Third Mission

Abstract

Universities have traditionally embraced three missions: teaching, research and community service. The latter usually receives lower status than the other two missions. There has, however, been a revival of interest in community service as a policy oriented exercise for universities and regional development, partly stimulated by international demands for relevance in higher education. This paper provides a background context to the revival of interest and then examines how one university in a ‘least developed country’ is interpreting the concept of community service in the face of internal resource challenges and international development targets. The paper reports on work in progress but makes tentative observations for future policy orientation in the light of preliminary findings from a university audit and stakeholder discussions. Reference to follow-up case studies is also made. The concluding argument is that universities in developing country contexts should embrace the community service mission in order to justify increased funding support.