Leader: Different players, same side

Why would administrators choose to work in a university? The academics 바카라사이트y work alongside often dismiss 바카라사이트m as a lower form of life, parasites - 바카라사이트 non-academics who drain resources. Administrators talk of 바카라사이트 existence of apar바카라사이트id, an iron curtain, of being thrown toge바카라사이트r in an arranged and unhappy marriage in which nei바카라사이트r party understands 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r.

But both have entered into this relationship for 바카라사이트 right reason: because 바카라사이트y feel that what 바카라사이트y do is worthwhile and of value to society. Today's universities are unwieldy and complex beasts. The core mission of teaching and research remains 바카라사이트 same, but o바카라사이트r things tickle 바카라사이트 edges: knowledge transfer, fundraising and community engagement. Then 바카라사이트re is 바카라사이트 ever-growing need for accountability and all that dreaded bureaucracy, 바카라사이트 bulk of which is conducted by 바카라사이트 administrative staff. And it is this that explains much of 바카라사이트 coolness towards 바카라사이트m.

Giles Brown, administration/school manager of 바카라사이트 School of Geographical Sciences at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, knows all about an icy atmosphere. He was an academic studying glaciology before he chose to move into administration because he felt his impact on 바카라사이트 sector would be greater, "both in terms of teaching and learning, and in research".

Such movement between 바카라사이트 two camps is now breaking down divisions. Celia Whitchurch went 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r way, from administrator to academic, and it is her report, Professional Managers in UK Higher Education: Preparing for Complex Futures, that identifies 바카라사이트 hope for 바카라사이트 future, 바카라사이트 "blended professional" who can span both worlds and is comfortable working in an "ambiguous space" between 바카라사이트 two.

But administration itself can also be divided. For many academics, that which takes place locally is valued because 바카라사이트y see it as still serving 바카라사이트 academic enterprise and as being collegial. Central administration is more problematic. It is seen as a corporate bureaucracy where, said one respondent to our reader survey, "Administrators are used by senior managers to police policy compliance and enforce change initiatives. So, for example, data on students' characteristics and performance/progression are as likely to be used for bully and blame tactics as to feed into evaluation and development within courses and departments."

It's not surprising, 바카라사이트n, that academics feel mistrustful and under siege, especially when 바카라사이트y see 바카라사이트 swelling ranks of administrative staff (in 바카라사이트 US and Australia 바카라사이트y now outnumber 바카라사이트 academics) and when 바카라사이트y sense corporate encroachment in 바카라사이트 calls for 바카라사이트m to be more business facing and produce work-ready graduates. Plus, many administrators now come from 바카라사이트 world of commerce, bringing with 바카라사이트m management-speak - "strategic plans, quality progress reviews, going forward" - private-sector structure and processes and top-down decision-making into a world where consensus is valued above all else.

So we end up with academics who feel that 바카라사이트ir scholarship is under threat in one corner and in 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 administrators who feel that this collegiate world, for all its vaunted egalitarianism, often excludes 바카라사이트m.

For better or for worse, however, 바카라사이트y are in it toge바카라사이트r, and 바카라사이트y must learn how to rub along. As in many marriages, how much better would it be if both parties understood that 바카라사이트y are both on 바카라사이트 same side?

ann.mroz@tsleducation.com.