4/16/2008 8:13:00 AM
Letter: The Guardian 16 April
The proud reputation Britain's universities enjoy abroad is built on academic freedom and institutional autonomy. The University and College Union does not believe "reshaping universities to make them more business-friendly" is the way to preserve or enhance our standing (Business to fund 30,000 new places in university shake-up, April 14).We fully support opening up university to people who are currently prohibited from studying or who never had the chance in the past. However, we do not equate that to churning out as many "graduates" as possible through courses designed on the latest whim of business. Universities will contribute more to our society and economy if allowed to retain their principal missions as places of research and scholarship. Affording the private sector a major say in the curriculum today will mean less innovation and invention for tomorrow as university staff are forced to prioritise policy that focuses purely on the numbers game. A raft of market-based approaches to higher education funding and policy is changing the university experience from one where students are encouraged to learn, to one where they are encouraged to cough up and get out the other side as quickly as possible. The debate we need to be having is what our universities are for, not merely who they should serve.
Sally Hunt
General secretary, UCU
FE/HE/ Skills
E-mail a friend |
del.icio.us| Bookmark|
Permalink |
Comments
(0) |
Post RSS