Pola dyskusji wokół wartości mniejszych ośrodków akademickich (na przykładzie cieszyńskiego ośrodka Uniwersytetu Śląskiego)

Higher education establishments and policy towards them have recently been the subject of numerous debates in academic environments. In light of the proposed changes in the Polish higher education the situation of small academic centers, their functions, formal status and prospects, becomes more and more unclear. The author takes up the issue by formulating some questions and suggesting directions for seeking answers. As an example illustrating the problems she discusses the academic center in Cieszyn, which brings together two departments of the University of Silesia in Katowice. Two questions guide the adopted way of consideration: Are higher education establishments needed in small centers? What kind, for whom and for what? What are the advantages and weaknesses of small academic centers and what diffculties do they face? Who should feel responsible for them?