UK Government Studies 1.01
There has to be list.
This is the amendment passed in the House of Lords, tabled by Baroness Alison Wolf.
“UK universities: functions
(1) UK universities are autonomous institutions and must uphold the principles of
academic freedom and freedom of speech.
(2) UK universities must ensure that they promote freedom of thought and
expression, and freedom from discrimination.
(3) UK universities must provide an extensive range of high quality academic
subjects delivered by excellent teaching, supported by scholarship and
research, through courses which enhance the ability of students to learn
throughout their lives.
(4) UK universities must make a contribution to society through the pursuit,
dissemination, and application of knowledge and expertise locally, nationally
and internationally; and through partnerships with business, charitable
foundations, and other organisations, including other colleges and universities.
(5) UK universities must be free to act as critics of government and the conscience
of society.”
Just go through this amendment with a picture of Donald Trump in front of you and the car crash that was Trump University LLC in mind – a US for profit training company specialising in Real Estate Training claiming to be a university – a scandal, a court case, students left without fee money or a qualification, a legal stand off and a rush to settlement just after the presidential election.
Case made – who could possibly object?
Yet under existing UK legislation neither the most powerful man in the world, or any of his children in future, could trade as a “university”. Because he couldn’t get on the government list and in the UK government there is nothing more useful than a list.
Yes the government already has a list, and Universities have been in favour of a list in the past to keep standards up – and others out. They just don’t like the look of the new list or the keepers of the list in the proposed office for students.
In the UK you have to be on the list to trade as, and award UK degrees. The term “University” – the most powerful, aspirational, magnetic, social status marker, marketing and brand hook in UK and world education – is a protected term in the UK. You have to be on the list to use the title.
But if this amendment survives then the government will effectively have to abandon the core reforms to increase provider diversity (make a longer list), become narrowed to the existing model and rely on the promise of universities to reform and diversify themselves, (create more sub lists in colleges and franchise).
Which would be a shame because there is lots of important change on research and teaching in the bill’s lists, change which has been waiting on another list since the White Paper of 2011 to be legislated since Mr David Willetts, a previous minister, thought he had a list of promised reform.
Most of the amendment is well written and unobjectionable, but it does have what any good lobbyist will recognise as a stonking spoiler in the middle.
(3) “universities must provide an extensive range of high quality academic
subjects delivered by excellent teaching, supported by scholarship and
research,”
By these two simple phrases a bar is introduced, and the list become much, much shorter and harder to get on.
Indeed many existing universities might struggle to get on the list under these terms if they were starting today – the LSE, Goldsmiths, University of the Arts, Royal Agricultural University, The University of Law, BPP and many more.
The specialists of today in business studies and law like BPP or Regents University with its focus on psychology, media studies and creative industries, fill gaps where current universities are failing to meet some teaching need and some student demand except and unless on their own high cost, time heavy, historic provider driven models.
It’s very early days but could Jo Johnson end up at the next Conservative conference waving about his own, still little, list of UK universities. We all remember what happened to Mr Peter Lilley when he waved a little list at a Conservative conference once before.
