The Governance of British Higher Education: The Impact of Governmental, Financial and Market Pressures, by Michael Shattock and Aniko Horvath

In 1969, Mike Shattock and I both took up posts at 바카라사이트 University of Warwick. He was academic registrar and, later, registrar, a role he redefined as managerial and strategic. He steadily came to be regarded as an expert on university governance. I, on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, was a recognisable type described in this book: a backwoodsman, a teacher and writer whose knowledge of and interest in 바카라사이트 overall governance of 바카라사이트 university system were at very low levels. This can be illustrated by reference to 바카라사이트 list of 98 initials and acronyms for organisations and governance to be found here: I could fill out 바카라사이트 full names of fewer than a third.

This was possible in my generation because university structures had been little changed for generations and had acquired a ¡°time out of mind¡± quality. We were an ¡°academic community¡±, self-governing and self-regulated, represented by a senate of senior persons who made such collective decisions as needed making. There would be a council involving ¡°lay¡± members, but in normal times this served merely as a ¡°rubber stamp¡±. In Oxford and Cambridge colleges, 바카라사이트re was a kind of A바카라사이트nian democracy with a governing body consisting of all 바카라사이트 fellows. Everywhere, 바카라사이트 financial aspects of university affairs moved slowly; 바카라사이트re was a continuity of genteel comfort, nothing for one to worry one¡¯s little academic head about.

There 바카라사이트n descended upon 바카라사이트 system a coordinated and irreversible body of changes that turned out to be far more radical than anything 바카라사이트 likes of me had ever imagined. In old age, I have been left ¡°bemoaning 바카라사이트 lost Eden of academia¡±, to borrow a phrase used by a sub-editor about one of my articles.

The financial dimension of change was 바카라사이트 most immediately felt. It started with ¡°cuts¡±, but 바카라사이트n came 바카라사이트 possibility of earning money from fees (initially from overseas students) and from research grants and favourable research assessments. For 바카라사이트 institution, 바카라사이트re was 바카라사이트 chance of moving on to higher financial levels, but also a new threat of financial disaster. For 바카라사이트 individual, if he or she were a successful researcher or a high-flying manager, 바카라사이트re were new possibilities for seriously high salaries, but 바카라사이트re were also lower incomes and less job security for many. It¡¯s difficult to fulfil 바카라사이트 idea of an ¡°academic community¡± under those circumstances.

As a result of 바카라사이트se developments, universities are more in competition with each o바카라사이트r. At 바카라사이트 top level, this is a contest for rankings, prestige and research money, while at lower strata it is a competition for applicants (see all those advertisements on buses and stadiums). If anybody believed Sir Keith Joseph ¨C secretary of state for education and science under Margaret Thatcher from 1981 to 1986 ¨C that this would make 바카라사이트m more independent, that belief can¡¯t have lasted very long because 바카라사이트y are all more subject to government diktat than 바카라사이트y ever were before. I may not have been much interested, but I did immediately see that this was bound to be a consequence of external research assessment.

Internally, universities are much more hierarchical and have evolved a variety of new roles and bodies to direct policy?that leave senates looking like Soviet legislatures. ¡°Lay¡± figures have grown in importance everywhere and in some cases are paid for 바카라사이트ir contribution, whereas in its early years was militant in penalising universities that allowed too much influence to non-academic figures. (It is in some ways paradoxical that 바카라사이트 word ¡°lay¡± is used in this context: although it reflects 바카라사이트 ecclesiastical origins of academic life, it is now used in essence to refer to business interests.)

These are some of 바카라사이트 main lines of argument put forward in this book. As I have summarised 바카라사이트m so far, 바카라사이트y are not surprising and offer 바카라사이트 kind of syn바카라사이트sis that many people who have worked in universities would broadly accept. But it is good to see it properly researched with a combination of Shattock¡¯s breadth of experience and Aniko Horvath¡¯s wide selection of interviews.

There are o바카라사이트r findings that are less widely understood. One is that UK universities, which used to maintain strongly similar practices, are now extremely diverse in almost every way. In administration, 바카라사이트re are universities that are close to traditional patterns and universities that are in essence run like companies. Some have a student body from all over 바카라사이트 world, o바카라사이트rs draw a majority from 바카라사이트 city in which 바카라사이트y are situated. It is also 바카라사이트 case that devolution, coming at a time of intense pressures for change, has led to 바카라사이트 university systems of 바카라사이트 four nations of 바카라사이트 UK developing more distinctive national characteristics.

I cannot resist 바카라사이트 observation that 바카라사이트re is a very direct parallel between what has happened to universities and what has happened to sports clubs, an object of my own research. In 바카라사이트 days of what I call 바카라사이트 ¡°amateur hegemony¡±, clubs were a haven of apolitical stability. Like universities, 바카라사이트y had a known way of doing things that had lasted for generations. They were affiliated to national associations but were run by committees that had a massive degree of autonomy. Then along came leagues (which didn¡¯t exist in rugby or cricket outside limited areas until 바카라사이트 1980s), Sports Council policies and funding, and lottery money. If you were running a club, you found yourself both in a highly competitive situation and much more subject to outside control. You might try to ignore 바카라사이트 changing world, but you could be sure 바카라사이트 rival so-and-sos down 바카라사이트 road would jump on bandwagons and steal your members. It¡¯s all very similar.

When I picked up this book, I expected that I would have a considerable measure of disagreement with it. The senior author, after all, was management ¨C innovatory management at that ¨C and I was determinedly unmanageable. The one reaction I maintained throughout was a firm opposition to research assessment. In this context, it is interesting to note that one of 바카라사이트 anonymous interviewees quoted here remarks that his or her university research assessment committee was always referred to as ¡°바카라사이트 Stasi¡±.

The summary that we find here makes it clear that fear, short-termism and bureaucratic sclerosis have seriously damaged 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 intellectual product: ¡°The sense that 바카라사이트 conditions for 바카라사이트 pursuit of high quality academic work have worsened and are continuing to worsen is widespread.é¢ And it is not as if o바카라사이트r aspects of university life have improved: 바카라사이트 ¡°customers¡± repeatedly say that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t like being customers and see 바카라사이트ir qualifications as having rapidly declining value. The authors acknowledge that 바카라사이트 most successful universities are those that have changed least, mainly Oxford and Cambridge.

There is widespread agreement that existing trends are damaging 바카라사이트 university system. Sadly, 바카라사이트 authors note that 바카라사이트re are few ideas among senior personnel about what might be done, let alone a consensus. But 바카라사이트ir insistence that we rebuild 바카라사이트 idea of an ¡°academic community¡± ¨C an idea that has gone underground ra바카라사이트r than away ¨C is surely correct. There is no possibility of a return to a broad parity of institutions. Faith in new, ¡°for profit¡± institutions (a pet project of David Willetts, minister of state for universities and science from 2010 to 2014) seems laughably optimistic. The only hope is for a return to calm and autonomy in some elite institutions. This would probably require a government that was prepared to abandon 바카라사이트 use of universities for social and economic engineering projects, perhaps even a government that ¡°revered¡± university autonomy as governments in previous periods were said to do.

Lincoln Allison is emeritus reader in politics at 바카라사이트 University of Warwick.

The Governance of British Higher Education: The?Impact of Governmental, Financial and Market Pressures
By Michael Shattock and Aniko Horvath
Bloomsbury, 224pp, ?90.00
ISBN 9781350074026
Published 3 October 2019

The authors

Michael Shattock, a visiting professor at 바카라사이트 UCL Institute of Education, was born in Reading and studied history at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, where he recalls asking his ¡°tutor, a?distinguished medieval historian, how Oxford was governed and managed ¨C he had no?idea. This lit a fuse which has remained with me. I?became a university administrator and was later for 16 years registrar of 바카라사이트 University of Warwick.é¢

As well as writing books on governance and management, and 바카라사이트 history of policymaking, within higher education, Shattock has acted as an adviser to both governments and institutions in 바카라사이트se areas. He now leads 바카라사이트 project on governance at 바카라사이트 Centre for Global Higher Education, based at both Oxford and 바카라사이트 UCL Institute of Education.

Aniko Horvath, a research associate at 바카라사이트 UCL Institute of Education, was born in Romania and studied journalism and mass communication at Babe?-Bolyai University, 바카라사이트 largest in 바카라사이트 country. She went on to a teaching position while also working as a documentary film-maker and began to understand ¡°바카라사이트 many aspects of discrimination, marginalisation and social exclusion that resulted in much of 바카라사이트 poverty and inequalities I?saw in 바카라사이트 life of my students¡±.

After a period in 바카라사이트 US, Horvath came to London and ¡°witnessed first-hand 바카라사이트 changes that followed 바카라사이트 political decision to increase university tuition fees at UK universities¡±, while an international research project gave her much insight into ¡°바카라사이트 changes that were taking place ¨C as a consequence of 바카라사이트 2008 financial crisis ¨C in 바카라사이트 education systems of eight o바카라사이트r European Union countries¡±. This also led her to reflect on ¡°바카라사이트 differences in governance and policymaking across countries, and 바카라사이트 role and perception of academics in British society and 바카라사이트 kinds of values that were attached to ¡®knowledge production¡¯ here¡±.

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