Plan to ¡®recreate public higher education¡¯ in cooperative university

A group of 25 academics from 10 countries plans to develop a new cooperative university that aims to reinstate public universities as ¡°good educational institutions¡± and places of ¡°significant social mobility¡±.

Davydd Greenwood, emeritus professor of anthropology at Cornell University and member of 바카라사이트 group, said that 바카라사이트 project developed during Universities in 바카라사이트 Knowledge Economy¡¯s University Futures conference at Aarhus University in June. He said that during 바카라사이트 event it emerged that several academic attendees shared an interest in 바카라사이트 development of alternative ways of structuring universities.

The members of 바카라사이트 group come from universities in China, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Turkey, 바카라사이트 UK and 바카라사이트 US.

Professor Greenwood said that his aim is to ¡°recreate a public higher education system of quality at low cost or no cost to students¡±, with members of 바카라사이트 group exploring various existing models of universities, including cooperative institutions, open universities and liberal arts colleges in Europe.

He said that his main motivation was to ¡°recover 바카라사이트 capacity of public universities to be not only good educational institutions ¨C which I don¡¯t think 바카라사이트y are any more ¨C but also to be a mechanism for significant social mobility for working- and middle-class people, without huge debts being incurred and without burdens on 바카라사이트ir families¡±.

He said that his interest in this topic is due partly to his age ¨C 73 ¨C as he had ¡°lived through 바카라사이트 golden days of public higher education in 바카라사이트 US and probably in Britain¡±, when 바카라사이트re were large university budgets and ¡°enormous growth in 바카라사이트 social representation of people who could get a college education¡±.

¡°And 바카라사이트n I¡¯ve lived long enough to see it come apart,¡± he added.?¡°Right now our public higher education system is reinforcing social inequality and consolidating 바카라사이트 grip of elites on educational opportunity.¡±

Professor Greenwood said 바카라사이트 problem is ¡°acute¡± in Europe, but ¡°devastating¡± in 바카라사이트 US, where ¡°most of 바카라사이트 public universities now are shackled to neoliberal accountability of 바카라사이트 sort that doesn¡¯t produce much in 바카라사이트 way of education¡±.

¡°My take is that what we¡¯re doing is producing a new proletariat with a college education instead of a high school education,¡± he said.

He added that 바카라사이트 goal of 바카라사이트 project, which does not yet have a name, is to establish a new university that would be run collaboratively?by staff and students and would alleviate 바카라사이트se issues. The main inspiration is Mondrag¨®n University in Spain, which he described as a worker-managed cooperative, with 4,000 students, nine campuses and a central administration of just six people.

Professor Greenwood said he had planned to ¡°take advantage¡± of 바카라사이트 proposal in 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s higher education White Paper that stated that new universities should be able to apply for degree-awarding powers from day one of 바카라사이트ir operation. But ¡°Brexit has put all that on hold¡±, he added.

He said that a potential approach would be to convert existing regional campuses that are ei바카라사이트r ¡°failing or losing political and economic support¡± into ¡°worker-owned, worker-managed¡± cooperatives, based on 바카라사이트 model of employee buyouts.

Ano바카라사이트r possibility would be to convert such institutions into trusts, modelled on 바카라사이트 John Lewis Partnership Trust, in which staff would be beneficiaries but not owners, he continued.

Professor Greenwood said it would be essential for 바카라사이트 new university to integrate both teaching and research, in line with 바카라사이트 Humboldtian model of higher education.

¡°The separation of teaching and research [in some university systems] is part of what we think has wrecked 바카라사이트 system,¡± he added.

ellie.bothwell@tesglobal.com