This blog was kindly contributed by Steven Jones, Professor of Higher Education at the University of Manchester. Last month, WonkHE ran a short series of blogs on ‘governance in a time of pandemic’. Developed in partnership with one of the ‘big four’ accountancy firms, the blogs drew on business terminology (‘customers’, ‘executive teams’, etc.) and...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
Liz Morrish had an unblemished record of 30 years in academia without so much as a late library book to her name. That all changed when she publicly voiced her opinions on the terrible toll managerialism was having on academics’ mental health – and she found herself charged with gross misconduct.Read More
Professor David Midgley concludes his discussion of The Governance of British Higher Education by Michael Shattock and Aniko Horvath Like other analysts of the current situation, Shattock and Horvath bring out very clearly the deleterious effects of marketisation and the senses in which these have been exacerbated by the removal of the student numbers...Read More
Professor David Midgley continues his look at The Governance of British Higher Education by Michael Shattock and Aniko Horvath The impact of the developments described in section I has been far from uniform. In addition to the differences in governance structure between pre-1992 and post-1992 universities that were entrenched by the 1992 legislation, significant...Read More
In the first of three blogposts, Professor David Midgley offers some reflections on The Governance of British Higher Education by Michael Shattock and Aniko Horvath, and what it tells us about the recent history of the university The question of how the state of health of a university’s core academic activities relates to the...Read More
The Higher Education Funding Council for England did an excellent job of maintaining a register of providers. So why is the Office for Students struggling, asks Professor G.R.Evans The Office for Students (OfS), fully in operation from 1 August after its first-year transition period, is behind with its registrations of providers. Given the imminence...Read More
