"University" is the name given to an institution of higher education which derives from the idea of a universites litterarum. The form originally referred to a particular kind of human community, a community of masters and students. To say that the university’s people are not just anyone, but rather are masters and students, asserts a difference in the university from other types of human communities, namely, the focus around which its people have come together and the substance with which they deal. The university differs from other types of human communities because of its emphasis on gaining, sharing, and using knowledge. Knowledge is the unique ingredient, and we usually find it easy therefore to agree on a listing of the university’s primary functions.