The Green Paper, TEF and Implications for Universities by Dr Elizabeth Lawrence UCU President What is Higher Education for? What do we mean by marketisation and privatisation? The impact of marketisation and privatisation to date The Green
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Presentation Transcript
01
The Green Paper, TEF and Implications for Universities by
Dr Elizabeth Lawrence
UCU President<br>
02
What is Higher Education for?
What do we mean by marketisation and privatisation?
The impact of marketisation and privatisation to date
The Green Paper
Regulation of the HE sector
Implications for students
Teaching Excellence Framework
UCU response 2 Introduction – themes of talk<br>
03
Humanistic values surrounding education
The development of human beings
The education of citizens for a democratic society
Enjoyment in learning
Advancement of knowledge and science
Contribution to a better society, economic regeneration, social welfare and social justice
Preparation for employment (not employability) What is Higher Education for? 3<br>
04
How is a market created in higher education?
Can a degree be a commodity?
Can education be bought?
How many forms can privatisation take?
Charging fees/students as ‘customers’
Selling qualifications, ‘buying learning’
Outsourcing/sub-contracting of areas of work – catering, security, teaching etc.
Growth of private for-profit providers of Higher Education What do we mean by marketisation and privatisation? 4<br>
05
The impact on the status and role of students – the rise of the customer discourse
The National Student Survey
Growth in the number of posts with ‘business’ and ‘management’ in the job title
The decline of collegiality and democratic governance
Discourse around ‘business’ not ‘service’
Changes in employment status and conditions for some groups of workers The impact of marketisation and privatisation to date 5<br>
06
A privatisation agenda – belief in markets
Proposed new regulatory body replacing HEFCE and OFFA with OfS (Office for Students)
Linking of fees to TEF scores
Metrics for TEF- danger of proxy metrics, e.g. NSS scores as a measure of student learning
Increase in number of HEIs, quicker route to degree-awarding powers
HEIs entering and leaving the sector more rapidly The Green Paper 6<br>
07
Some regulation is needed around:
Right to university title, degree awarding powers and academic standards
Academic freedom and governance
Provision for students
Employment conditions of staff
Finance
How can the regulatory framework support the sector and not create excessive workloads or take major resources away from research and teaching? Regulation of the Higher Education Sector 7<br>
08
Linking of increased tuition fees to TEF scores
Not all students are geographically mobile and able to relocate to complete studies.
What is a degree worth if the HEI closes after the student has graduated? Does the ‘market value’ fall?
Whose children will go to HEIs likely to close?
How will graduates obtain validation of qualifications or references from an HEI which has closed? Implications for students 8<br>
09
Teaching Excellence Framework 9 What would UCU members like to see in terms of rewarding and valuing good teaching?
De-casualisation of the workforce;
More time on our work plans for small group and individual time with students;
Promotion for good teaching;
Support for HEA membership and staff development activities in HE pedagogy.<br>
10
Working with allies to defend educational values and academic freedom
Challenging privatisation
The need to unionise the private sector of Higher Education and improve employment conditions there
Implications of TEF for workloads and pedagogic freedom
Threats to student welfare
Risk of institutional and departmental closures – loss of jobs and educational provision How should UCU respond? 10<br>
