As a part of the process of societal evolution, human has been conditioned to be more observant to bodily experiences and empirical things. Thereby, we have gained a significant understanding of the material world and are less responsive to things that are immaterial and invaluable.

Unfortunately, our education system could not remain impervious from this unidimensional approach. The focus has been on developing the intellectual potentials of student learners, thereby ignoring the emotional, social, physical, artistic, creative and spiritual potentials.

Holistic education is based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to spiritual values such as compassion and peace.

Uka Tarsadia University seeks to engage students in the teaching-learning process and encourage personal and social responsibility. It is progressively working towards building and encouraging a system wherein the students learn about themselves, relationships, about resilience and aesthetics. These involve learning self respect and self esteem; social and emotional literacy; the art of overcoming difficulties, facing challenges; and seeing the beauty around them and learn to have awe in life.

It is the goal of education at Uka Tarsadia University; we believe it will also be the guiding principle of the future trends of higher education in Gujarat. Every child is more than a future employee; every person's intelligence and abilities are far more complex than his or her scores on standardized tests. When implementing, holistic education is embodied in the four balances as explicated in the following:

1. Balance between Specialty and General Knowledge:The Uka Tarsadia University aims to build a well-rounded knowledge base by helping students. Specialization equips one with the power to do a specialized job; while general knowledge affords one a wider horizon. Facing diverse and ever-changing environment, students need to find a balance between professional and general knowledge. They need to build a knowledge framework where both can reinforce each other and produce synergy. While engaging in the vertical pursuit of professional knowledge, university students should also be aware of various disciplines outside their professional fields. We, at Uka Tarsadia University aim at helping students build a well-rounded knowledge base.

2. Balance between Character-building and Knowledge-building:We place equal emphasis on orienting students to excel academically and as well as on their character building. Young students with biased or distorted personality often are the cause of unease. Their inability to communicate often becomes the source of social disturbance. Therefore, we aim to enable students to view things from different perspectives and to communicate free of prejudice. In an era of team work, we hope that the student cultivates a sound character while building a solid base of knowledge. The two elements can reinforce each other, and their synergy would prove to students' advantage.

3. Balance between Self and Group:The world is increasingly moving towards a trend of collaborative learning, and there is a greater need to address the importance of interaction between self and group. Students need to be more participative to ensure an efficient learning process. Implementing this principle, besides academic pursuits, students are taught to serve. They are encouraged to participate in extra-curricular and community service activities. They learn to help and also gain leadership skills. The campus and various facilities of the university are open to the public at large. We therefore look forward to a unique campus culture whereby students and community can grow together.

4. A Balance between Body, Mind, and Spirit:One of our goals in Holistic Education is to help students find a balance between body, mind, and spirit. The University has excellent facilities of Stadiums and Sports Centers. Students are very keen on competing in sports. It also provides excellent health care facilities. In addition, proficient counseling teams provide service to faculty and students in need.

Uka Tarsadia's approach to holistic education that characterizes its vision of education is developed in response to the rapidly changing time and after rethinking of the position of college education. We hope to create a unique "Campus - study environment, ethics and culture" at the turn of the new century. With these ideals, the University has set for itself three guiding principles:

1. Encouraging Free-Thinking:We strive to cultivate students who will have a farsighted vision, an objectivity to tell right from wrong, and a sense of justice that keeps them in the path of righteousness. We should strive to develop a campus environment where students learn to study independently and think with freedom. Free thinking is essential for, the campus that is gradually becoming more democratic and diverse, for an ever-changing dynamic society and in an era wherein the sense of values and moral standards are becoming vague day by day.

2. Emphasizing Accountabilities and Ethics:Good behavior is grounded in a healthy sense of morality and ethics. Education groundedin morality and ethics thus builds tolerance, empathy, honesty, and integrity. As part of our general education curriculum, students are required to learn ethics in - business, engineering, computers or pharmacy. The purpose is to instill in students accountability and law-abiding spirits. We aim at producing citizens who care, that are willing to contribute and shoulder responsibilities whether in an organization or in society. We hope this to become a campus culture and a reason for the corporate sectors to commend our students, and hence our university.

3. Working towards the Spirit of Holistic Education:Holistic education must have a bearing on all Uka Tarsadia University students.We will spare no effort in deepening and furthering the influence of the four balances on our students. Therefore in June 2008, we started Shrimad Rajchandra Center of Value Education. We are working towards the establishment of Humanities and Social Science Education Center. The center will directly report to the President and will be responsible for the development of courses in humanities and general education, with emphasis on incorporating the ideals of holistic education in courses offered in general education. Courses offered in every department will be geared towards the ideals of holistic education. Everything at the university - from the course content, teaching methodology, evaluation, practicum, to research and publishing, will be carried out under the guiding principles of holistic education.