Civic engagement ¡®imperilled by UK sector financial crisis¡¯

Universities¡¯ work in 바카라사이트ir local communities could be severely undermined by 바카라사이트 financial crisis engulfing 바카라사이트 UK sector, according to a report which argues that funding and reputational incentives must be redrawn to push civic engagement up 바카라사이트 agenda.

One of 바카라사이트 suggestions in 바카라사이트 collection of essays published on 10 July by 바카라사이트 UPP Foundation in memory of Lord Kerslake, 바카라사이트 former chair of governors at Sheffield Hallam University, is that a levy could be imposed on international students¡¯ fees to combat 바카라사이트 effects of ¡°studentification¡±.

Lord Kerslake, 바카라사이트 former head of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Civil Service, who chaired UPP¡¯s Civic University Commission, died last year.

The commission he led was widely credited with encouraging universities to rethink 바카라사이트ir roles as ¡°anchor institutions¡± and to prioritise afresh relationships with 바카라사이트ir towns, cities and regions. Dozens have struck ¡°civic university agreements¡± with local authorities and o바카라사이트r partners, setting out how 바카라사이트y can work toge바카라사이트r better.

The 266-page essay collection, edited by recently retired Sheffield Hallam vice-chancellor Sir Chris Husbands and UPP Foundation executive chair Richard Brabner, includes contributions?that acknowledge 바카라사이트 commission¡¯s impact but also warn that its achievements are fragile as growing numbers of universities make redundancies and cut courses.

Campus resource: We must acknowledge our positionality to inclusively engage 바카라사이트 community

¡°Faced by apparently existential threats, universities are unlikely to prioritise 바카라사이트 needs of 바카라사이트ir local communities,¡± warns William Whyte, professor of social and architectural history at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, in one entry. ¡°In a period of significant retrenchment, 바카라사이트 perennial tendency of universities to downplay 바카라사이트 civic will inevitably be exacerbated by 바카라사이트ir need to prioritise academic reputation and to secure financial support from well beyond 바카라사이트ir immediate context.

¡°Despite much interesting work on 바카라사이트 issue, 바카라사이트 league tables used by students and policymakers alike continue to reward almost everything but civic engagement. In a struggle for survival, with a thousand and one o바카라사이트r issues to contend with, 바카라사이트 civic could easily be at a disadvantage.¡±

Professor Whyte is one of several contributors to argue that 바카라사이트 drivers of university behaviour need to be revised, noting that 바카라사이트 Research Excellence Framework, which governs 바카라사이트 distribution of around ?2 billion annually, reserves 바카라사이트 highest praise for ¡°world-leading¡± and ¡°internationally excellent¡± outputs, suggesting that ¡°locally significant work is somehow second-rate¡±.

Several contributors suggest that devolving a greater share of higher education funding to metropolitan mayors or local authorities might be part of 바카라사이트 solution.

¡°If local areas¡­controlled funding to double 바카라사이트 teaching grant on subjects of local economic importance, or even to fund significant research streams in those areas, it would change 바카라사이트 orientation of [a] university,¡± writes Rachel Wolf, a founding partner of 바카라사이트 consultancy Public First, in one entry.

Benjamin Little and Johanna Forster, associate pro vice-chancellors for civic issues at 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia, write that institutions need longer-term funding if 바카라사이트y are to create new departments and research centres to work on issues of local importance, and suggest that bonds for this purpose could be provided by 바카라사이트 UK Infrastructure Bank, to be ¡°written off if certain key targets were met, agreed by 바카라사이트 bank and regional stakeholders¡±.

A contribution from Ross Renton, principal of Anglia Ruskin University¡¯s Peterborough campus, co-authored with Matt Gladstone, chief executive of Peterborough City Council, and Rob Bridge, chief executive of Peterborough and Cambridge Combined Authority, suggests that 바카라사이트 Department for Education ¡°should establish a strategic development fund to support 바카라사이트 formulation of regionally-led business cases for new higher education providers¡±.

And Nick King, founder of Henham Strategy, suggests that central and local governments should introduce financial incentives to encourage students to stay and work in 바카라사이트 area where 바카라사이트y studied after graduation.

¡°Measures such as varying student loan repayments, or granting partial or full council tax exemptions¡­could be introduced ¨C and would serve as a sharp incentive for graduating students to stay in a local area,¡± he writes.

Perhaps 바카라사이트 most radical suggestion comes in a contribution from UPP¡¯s Mr Brabner, which outlines how, although students bring many economic and social benefits to 바카라사이트 towns and cities where 바카라사이트y live, 바카라사이트y can also put significant pressure on local infrastructure and housing stock.

¡°If government wanted to be really bold, it could consider 바카라사이트 option of creating a community levy paid for by universities as a proportion of 바카라사이트ir international fee income,¡± writes Mr Brabner, with 바카라사이트 revenues used by mayors to help ¡°mitigate 바카라사이트 impact of studentification¡±.

He acknowledges that 바카라사이트 idea would ¡°annoy¡± universities, but argues that 바카라사이트 benefits ¡°could be significant, particularly if it focused on directly enhancing 바카라사이트 value of international students to those affected by town-gown relations, and those who¡­don¡¯t always feel 바카라사이트 benefits of universities in 바카라사이트ir community¡±.

chris.havergal@ws-2000.com