You might think higher education mission groups only get
animated when they are scoring points at each other's expense.
But the University Alliance of "business-engaged"
universities is taking a novel approach, producing a cartoon envisaging four
different scenarios for university futures, which it plans to use in lobbying
politicians and around the country.
Libby Hackett, the University Alliance chief executive, says
in her voiceover for the animation (in which she appears in cartoon form) that
the piece is an attempt to "change the terms of the debate".
The debate on higher education has so far focused on tuition
fees and their impact on student numbers, with little discussion of the social
and economic role of universities, she says.
The animation's four scenarios for the future of
universities are based on combinations of two variables: a high- or low-growth
economy, and a collaborative or competitive society.
The first scenario, "Uni_Divide", takes place in a
contracting economy and competitive, consumerist society. The low tax take
means the government prioritises pensioner benefits over investment in higher
education.
This produces a two-tier sector, where elite institutions
charge high fees and have a monopoly on overseas students, while others rely on
business funding.
Social mobility declines because of the high cost of
obtaining a university education and the low number of start-up businesses
spinning out of universities leads to a "decline in innovation".
In the second scenario, "Uni_Public", there is a
low-growth economy but a collaborative society. The government ensures
universities deliver the skills and courses its industrial strategy needs. But
student numbers decrease because of limits on spending, and because there can
only be one type of institution per locality "a number of universities
have to close".
In the third scenario, "Uni_Wifi", under a growing
economy and collaborative society, there is a "creative and innovative
economy" which leads to an emphasis on the "innovative capacity of
our graduates".
Intellectual property protections are abandoned in research;
academics are trained to deliver teaching via the internet; and universities no
longer focus on building their individual brand but on networks.
In the final scenario, "Uni_Market", a growing
economy and a competitive society leads to middle-wage jobs moving offshore to
emerging nations. University is seen as "the gateway to success",
student numbers rise as students are "willing to accept personal
debt". Public funding is awarded to universities through competition and
universities focus on their individual brand.
Ms Hackett concludes that the scenarios are "not
exhaustive, but they are provocative".
Source: 18 November 2012, Times Higher Education by John
Morgan
No comments:
Post a Comment