Understanding the roles of universities for sustainable development transformations: a framing analysis of university models

Scholars have proposed university models for creating a sustainable future in response to mounting calls for universities to rethink their roles in society. These university models include the Human Development University, the Developmental University, the Post-Developmental University, and the Transformative University. Through a framing analysis, this study compares different university models to understand how the models: frame their proposed new roles, suggest universities should change to adopt these roles, how particular notions of sustainable development transformations underpin the roles, and ultimately, how the roles relate to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We argue that it is essential to reflect on this plurality of normative roles to understand how some models could complement each other and how other models highlight issues with sustainable development, in general, and the SDGs, in particular, that could potentially undermine the transformative roles of universities for a sustainable society.