The Green Paper, TEF and Implications for

Transcript:The Green Paper, TEF and Implications for:
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 Paper Regulation of the HE sector Implications for students Teaching Excellence Framework UCU response 2 Introduction – themes of talk 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 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 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 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 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 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