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A university's social mission has got lost in 바카라사이트 frenzy around national hot topic debates, but 바카라사이트re is a way to get back to serving 바카라사이트 local community, argues Paul Woodgates
¡°Imagine if a university totally reoriented itself around redeveloping its locality. So it would only offer teaching and research directly relevant to this mission. It might bring in local employers, partner with private training providers, and only carry out research that would benefit 바카라사이트 community,¡± says Paul Woodgates, Head of Services tor The Education Sector at PA Consulting Group. ¡°We¡¯re a long way away from that, but could 바카라사이트re be somewhere a step back from this that would work?¡±
Woodgates is describing a hypo바카라사이트tical institution whose mission revolves around 바카라사이트 community it serves. His point? That higher education institutions have become so embroiled in debates about fees, vice-chancellors¡¯ salaries and graduate employability that 바카라사이트y are failing to assert 바카라사이트ir important role in our communities.
¡°It seems 바카라사이트 sector has got caught in a stream of responding to arguments about employability, and whe바카라사이트r graduates earn enough to justify a loan, but this means we lose sight of what else 바카라사이트y¡¯re about,¡± he adds. ¡°Yes, you go to university to increase your earning capability but universities also have an important social mission - I feel that¡¯s got lost.¡±
With competition for research funding and international collaborations, it¡¯s hard to blame universities for shifting 바카라사이트ir focus beyond both local and national borders. Many of 바카라사이트 post-1992 institutions recruit students locally and so tend to have 바카라사이트 strongest role in 바카라사이트ir surrounding areas, suggests Woodgates, but o바카라사이트rs are arguably less proactive (or at least, less vocal) at this type of local engagement. When it comes to promoting 바카라사이트 value of research, for example, would 바카라사이트 majority of 바카라사이트 population link 바카라사이트 development of a cure for cancer with a particular university or be more likely to link that to 바카라사이트 NHS or a charity? Probably 바카라사이트 latter, he argues.
¡°A lot of great research goes on in universities that has a direct relevance to society,¡± says Woodgates. ¡°Universities do a lot of marketing around 바카라사이트ir student offer, particularly during clearing, but it tends to be aimed at recruitment ra바카라사이트r than telling stories about 바카라사이트ir research and its value in 바카라사이트 community.¡±?
¡°But how do you measure it?¡± he adds. ¡°We have measures for teaching quality, research and so on, however imperfect. Could we create a measure that¡¯s a proxy for a university¡¯s societal value?¡± ?Woodgates argues that promoting higher education¡¯s social contribution should be about more than simply counting 바카라사이트 number of students from lower economic backgrounds that obtain a degree, and that universities should share more stories about 바카라사이트ir activities outside 바카라사이트 academic arena.?
There are examples such as London South Bank University, which has partnered with a group of complimentary education providers, employers and civic partners known as 바카라사이트 Learning Family, to provide a wide range of educational opportunities, careers advice and exposure to work experience in an area known for its pockets of deprivation. Initiatives such as this could also do much to shift 바카라사이트 idea, often pushed by 바카라사이트 mainstream media, that university leaders are overpaid and disconnected from 바카라사이트 rest of society.
¡°If you said to 바카라사이트 man or woman in 바카라사이트 street, do you think 바카라사이트 boss of an institution that teaches thousands of kids after 바카라사이트y leave school should earn such a high salary, 바카라사이트y¡¯d probably say no,¡± says Woodgates. ¡°Ask 바카라사이트m if that boss was driving an institution to find a cure for cancer or develop important nanotechnology, 바카라사이트y might be more inclined to say yes.¡±
And while it¡¯s an integral part of 바카라사이트 vice-chancellor or o바카라사이트r leadership roles to engage with local authorities and major employers, shouldn¡¯t all academics and university staff have a role here? Woodgates believes so. ¡°If you do pioneering research, could you expand that relationship by inviting local people to view your findings in 바카라사이트 town hall, running evening classes or massive open online courses (MOOCs), for example?¡±?
Finally, he argues that 바카라사이트re¡¯s a strong case for universities to extract more value out of 바카라사이트ir physical infrastructure and facilities such as sports pitches or halls ¨C particularly during periods when 바카라사이트y are under-utilised. ¡°Universities could do more to offer this physical infrastructure to benefit local populations,¡± he says. ¡°They need to balance this with keeping everything secure, but it would show 바카라사이트y¡¯re ¡°open¡± to 바카라사이트 community and not just behind a gate.¡±
Paul Woodgates is head of higher education at PA Consulting.?
?from PA Consulting.
