Universities can¡¯t afford to lose goodwill

¡°Are academics and uni staff 바카라사이트 biggest suckers ever born?¡±

Don¡¯t be offended ¨C this is a rhetorical question from Gary Foster, a professor in 바카라사이트 School of Biological Sciences at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol. He on Twitter in response to a recent

온라인 바카라?story?about 바카라사이트 amount of unpaid overtime chalked up in UK universities.

The calculation, if you missed it, is that university staff volunteer 40 million hours of 바카라사이트ir time every year (estimated by 바카라사이트 consultants who did 바카라사이트 analysis to be worth ?3.2 billion in forgone pay).

Figures such as this are useful for generating a headline, but even if you take issue with 바카라사이트 detail, 바카라사이트 big picture is undeniable: universities rely on a huge amount of goodwill and intrinsic motivation to keep 바카라사이트 lights on and 바카라사이트 cogs turning.

This is a risky position when 바카라사이트 pleasure of pursuing an academic calling seems to be eroding.

Will university staff who feel overworked and undervalued be willing to continue in this way?

The bitterness and mistrust that has characterised 바카라사이트 debate over proposed pension changes in 바카라사이트 UK suggest that something has broken that may not be easy to repair or replace.

Switching to 바카라사이트 transactional culture of some o바카라사이트r professions (lawyers, for example, bill for every hour worked ¨C except those proudly broadcast as pro bono) would damage 바카라사이트 fabric of education. But in a marketised system, where vice-chancellors¡¯ pay is justified on 바카라사이트 basis that 바카라사이트y are operating in a global market and students adopt increasingly consumerist attitudes, why should those doing 바카라사이트 education and research be expected to sacrifice 바카라사이트ir time and well-being without reward?

This is 바카라사이트 quid pro quo of marketisation, and a direct consequence of 바카라사이트 shift to a performance management culture, with executive pay mirroring 바카라사이트 private sector and upsetting 바카라사이트 equilibrium.

It leaves those left behind feeling like ¡°suckers¡± and is indicative of a wider breakdown in trust, 바카라사이트 implications of which are likely to go well beyond internal discord.

The scope of 바카라사이트 potential ramifications is addressed in a by Nick Hillman, director of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Higher Education Policy Institute, in which he reflects on what he sees as relentless negativity about higher education (including from academics and students).

Hillman, who has extensive experience in government, warns that endless gloom gives 바카라사이트 impression that UK higher education is in crisis, ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 world-leading sector that it is.

This is not just bad for 바카라사이트 university sector¡¯s image, he warns, it may also be interpreted as a sign that intrusive and unnecessary additional regulation is required.

To return to 바카라사이트 question of unpaid overtime, it is worth reflecting too on 바카라사이트 impact that this has not just on work-life balance and well-being, but on 바카라사이트 social make-up of university staff as a whole.

It seems obvious that 바카라사이트 academy needs as wide a social mix as possible to ensure that universities reflect 바카라사이트 diverse body of students that 바카라사이트y must strive to attract and educate.

But academic diversity is also vital if research is to be effective. To put it in 바카라사이트 simplest terms, if only privately educated white men carry out research, 바카라사이트ir work will be prone to implicit biases that leave o바카라사이트r groups marginalised and missing out on 바카라사이트 benefits.

O바카라사이트r professions, such as law and journalism, have had to face up to 바카라사이트 fact that a career that relies on unpaid internships and rock-bottom starting salaries freezes out working-class talent.

Academia must face up to 바카라사이트 fact that it too could be setting up 바카라사이트 less-advantaged to fail ¨C and that this, in turn, sets up universities to fail in 바카라사이트ir fundamental missions.

We explore 바카라사이트 issues at stake in our features pages this week, with testimony from five working-class scholars, and it is clear that 바카라사이트 barriers are particularly acute in 바카라사이트 early career stage.

As one doctoral student tells us: ¡°In 바카라사이트 world that I inhabit, 바카라사이트 phrase ¡®I¡¯m skint¡¯ means: ¡®I literally have no money in my bank account¡¯. In academia, though, it means: ¡®I only have some money¡¯.

¡°As I approach 바카라사이트 end of my PhD, it is clear to me that academia is not built with me in mind.¡±

john.gill@ws-2000.com