As the modern university turns from elitism to general access, there should be no compromises regarding the conception of what a university is. The masses still need high-quality education, research and cultural cultivation. Ambrose King puts it nicely: "If a university isn't able to stimulate the poetic minds of youths and induce them to reflect upon the problems of humanity, then it lacks the needed power to inspire."
時代往前推動，現代大學自菁英教育邁向普及是大勢所趨，然而大學的理想卻不容妥協，大眾所需要的仍最高品質的教育、研究與人文素養的培植，金耀基說的好，「一所大學若不能激起年輕人一些詩心的回盪，一些對人類問題的思索，那麼這間大學的缺乏感染力是無庸置疑的。」