Words by Lydia Dye-Stonebridge, joint runner up in the CDBU Essay Prize Competition 2022. I once worked for a large corporate, and they saw it fit to test my personality. The assessment plotted me against the Randian axes of dominance and compliance, influence and steadiness. My line of best fit demonstrated that while in work,...Read More

NEW ON THE CDBU BLOG IN PURSUIT OF PREVENT – Words by John Holmwood, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Nottingham John Holmwood considers how the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill intersects with the government’s counter-extremism policy, in the light of recent leaks about the recommendations to be expected from the Shawcross...Read More

NEW FROM CDBU!   Legislating against a phantom: Making sense of the Higher Education (Free Speech) Bill Notions of an ‘intolerant’ university that polices and controls the speech, behaviour and political standpoints of students are increasingly pushed by right-wing commentators. Along with the obligatory references to cancel culture, ‘woke bullies’ and de-platforming, Donelan informs us...Read More

The universities regulator, The Office for Students, has this week confirmed drastic cuts to funding for arts and creative subjects amid government plans to redirect the money to fund other “high-cost” subjects including science, technology, engineering and mathematics, medicine and healthcare. The cuts have been described as ‘the biggest attack on the arts in living...Read More

Reports that the Office for Students and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson plan to slash funding for arts subjects by 50% have caused uproar this week. The OfS have sought to clarify the situation, claiming that the proposed cuts only apply “…to a smaller subsidy provided by the OfS, not major funding streams”. Nevertheless, the move...Read More

This report was contributed to CDBU by Vision for Roehampton, a grassroots campaign organized by members of the UCU Roehampton branch. It is the third in our series titled ‘Manifestos for Change’, in which we are seeking forward-thinking responses to the present Covid-19 crisis, and the crisis of marketisation more generally. If you have created...Read More

This week, universities continued to come to grips with the prospect of shifting online, raising questions about quality and accessibility. CDBU also expressed their support for disabled students who feel left behind amid Covid-19 chaos, and we have issued a call for ‘Manifestos for Change’ from institutions across the UK. NEW on the CDBU blog:...Read More

The government’s rejection of the multi-billion pound bailout needed to save universities has raised serious concerns for the future of higher education. Voluntary severance schemes have been introduced, graduate prospects look bleak, and the shift to online learning could see the poorest students left behind. Government refuses multi-billion pound bailout for universities – The Guardian,...Read More

“If we wish to change the model, to have higher education serve the public, students and academics, and not as a Ponzi scheme floated on a bubble of student fees, we need to act now”, argues John Holmwood. The financial crisis facing the higher education sector is immediate and developing fast. There is no doubt...Read More

As Covid-19 continues to inflict damage across the higher education sector and with the plea for a financial bailout falling on deaf ears, students and staff have come out in full force to highlight “inhumane” management practices and responses to the pandemic. NEW on the CDBU blog! ‘Don’t frighten the students’: the crisis of academic...Read More