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| Toby Young is gone. But he was the least of universities’ problems | Toby Young is gone. But he was the least of universities’ problems |
| (4 days later) | |
| Letters | |
| Thu 11 Jan 2018 19.15 GMT | |
| Last modified on Thu 11 Jan 2018 22.00 GMT | |
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| For the second time in recent weeks, you describe the “paying back” of student loans as though this is something positive, even though “barely half … will ever get paid back” (Peter Scott: Toby Young is a symptom of universities’ Faustian pact, 9 January; Sonia Sodha: I once marched against tuition fees. Now I see their worth, 29 December). | For the second time in recent weeks, you describe the “paying back” of student loans as though this is something positive, even though “barely half … will ever get paid back” (Peter Scott: Toby Young is a symptom of universities’ Faustian pact, 9 January; Sonia Sodha: I once marched against tuition fees. Now I see their worth, 29 December). |
| But this is misleading. First, the loans are gradually being sold off at significant discounts, so only a small proportion of whatever is recovered will actually return to government coffers. More importantly, money that is repaid as though a tax by graduates cannot also be spent in the local community. Thus the equivalent amount is lost to the economy. In practice, the cash has already been “invested” in salaries and fancy buildings; the recovery process simply piles on austerity.Dr Mark EllisHuddersfield | But this is misleading. First, the loans are gradually being sold off at significant discounts, so only a small proportion of whatever is recovered will actually return to government coffers. More importantly, money that is repaid as though a tax by graduates cannot also be spent in the local community. Thus the equivalent amount is lost to the economy. In practice, the cash has already been “invested” in salaries and fancy buildings; the recovery process simply piles on austerity.Dr Mark EllisHuddersfield |
| • The universities had no Faustian pact. It was the fat cats who rejoice in titles like vice-chancellor, principal etc that had the pact with the government. The actual people who did the academic work saw worsening working conditions, casualisation of the workforce, less effective teaching and a poorer academic experience for students. The function of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP – now Universities UK) was originally believed by university staff to be to explain to government the universities’ views on matters affecting them. A leaked document many years ago made it clear that the CVCP was actually in the business of forcing the universities to accept any half-baked nonsense politicians dreamed up. | • The universities had no Faustian pact. It was the fat cats who rejoice in titles like vice-chancellor, principal etc that had the pact with the government. The actual people who did the academic work saw worsening working conditions, casualisation of the workforce, less effective teaching and a poorer academic experience for students. The function of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP – now Universities UK) was originally believed by university staff to be to explain to government the universities’ views on matters affecting them. A leaked document many years ago made it clear that the CVCP was actually in the business of forcing the universities to accept any half-baked nonsense politicians dreamed up. |
| The sooner we have a national pay scale for senior management in universities and, where appropriate, reductions in salaries, the better. John CooksonBournemouth | The sooner we have a national pay scale for senior management in universities and, where appropriate, reductions in salaries, the better. John CooksonBournemouth |
| • OK – so Toby Young came and went in a flash. But this still leaves Michael Barber in charge of the Office for Students, which is panning out to be higher education’s Ofsted equivalent: shotgun rider for a punitive, command-and-control policy with an unverifiable methodology. | • OK – so Toby Young came and went in a flash. But this still leaves Michael Barber in charge of the Office for Students, which is panning out to be higher education’s Ofsted equivalent: shotgun rider for a punitive, command-and-control policy with an unverifiable methodology. |
| Barber has form: among other things, heading up Tony Blair’s “delivery unit”, coercing compliance with policies that too often conflicted with the wisdom of professional practitioners who daily face complexities on the ground. | Barber has form: among other things, heading up Tony Blair’s “delivery unit”, coercing compliance with policies that too often conflicted with the wisdom of professional practitioners who daily face complexities on the ground. |
| Barber is cheered on in attacking universities by outrider Andrew Adonis, who also has relevant form, unelected-ministerial advocate of the privatising academy schools programme, and more recently advocating a return to elitism by reasserting the university/polytechnic division. | Barber is cheered on in attacking universities by outrider Andrew Adonis, who also has relevant form, unelected-ministerial advocate of the privatising academy schools programme, and more recently advocating a return to elitism by reasserting the university/polytechnic division. |
| They now have, as oversight minister, Sam Gyimah, ex-investment banker, Bow Group advocate of privatisation and openly social conservative. What lies in store for universities, even without the toxic economics of Toby Young? On the surface, we are likely to see a Deliveroo culture being force-fed commercialised universities. | They now have, as oversight minister, Sam Gyimah, ex-investment banker, Bow Group advocate of privatisation and openly social conservative. What lies in store for universities, even without the toxic economics of Toby Young? On the surface, we are likely to see a Deliveroo culture being force-fed commercialised universities. |
| More fundamentally worrying for our democracy is the likely reversal of 50 years of post-Robbins higher education reforms and a return to the elitist “pool-of-ability” thesis, in which just a small, Platonic elite is thought to have the smarts for tertiary study. As I pointed out in a recent letter (4 January), the enticing ratio of 119 universities to 24 in the Russell Group sounds just like the grammar-school/pool-of-ability ratio one would expect of these Victorian thinkers and which so attracts Theresa May.Emeritus Professor Saville KushnerBristol | More fundamentally worrying for our democracy is the likely reversal of 50 years of post-Robbins higher education reforms and a return to the elitist “pool-of-ability” thesis, in which just a small, Platonic elite is thought to have the smarts for tertiary study. As I pointed out in a recent letter (4 January), the enticing ratio of 119 universities to 24 in the Russell Group sounds just like the grammar-school/pool-of-ability ratio one would expect of these Victorian thinkers and which so attracts Theresa May.Emeritus Professor Saville KushnerBristol |
| • Milton Keynes apparently lies on ancient ley lines linking it to places like Stonehenge and Glastonbury. So it should perhaps come as no surprise that the Open University vice-chancellor’s account of his organisation’s current plight (A visionary to save the Open University – or the man to run it down?, 9 January) should be full of New (digital) Age mumbo-jumbo and apocalyptic nonsense. | • Milton Keynes apparently lies on ancient ley lines linking it to places like Stonehenge and Glastonbury. So it should perhaps come as no surprise that the Open University vice-chancellor’s account of his organisation’s current plight (A visionary to save the Open University – or the man to run it down?, 9 January) should be full of New (digital) Age mumbo-jumbo and apocalyptic nonsense. |
| The vertiginous decline in student satisfaction is not due to a changing cohort (most respondents were already in “the system”) but to ill thought-out and shambolically implemented changes. The thrust of much extensive recent research in higher education is that relationships and human-scale qualities and interactions engender the sense of belonging that is the heart of student retention and success. | The vertiginous decline in student satisfaction is not due to a changing cohort (most respondents were already in “the system”) but to ill thought-out and shambolically implemented changes. The thrust of much extensive recent research in higher education is that relationships and human-scale qualities and interactions engender the sense of belonging that is the heart of student retention and success. |
| It is not unsurprising, then, that the hamstrung Open University chose to opt out of Jo Johnson’s (Teaching Excellence) Olympics. A recent analysis of universities’ Teaching Excellence Framework submissions, to which I contributed, suggested that “Gold” providers were able to communicate and celebrate a distinct identity clearly and authentically: one that resonated with their declared values and mission. This is clearly beyond the Open University in its current state.Dr John Sanders(Open University associate lecturer since 1986), Manchester | It is not unsurprising, then, that the hamstrung Open University chose to opt out of Jo Johnson’s (Teaching Excellence) Olympics. A recent analysis of universities’ Teaching Excellence Framework submissions, to which I contributed, suggested that “Gold” providers were able to communicate and celebrate a distinct identity clearly and authentically: one that resonated with their declared values and mission. This is clearly beyond the Open University in its current state.Dr John Sanders(Open University associate lecturer since 1986), Manchester |
| • We welcome the resignation of Toby Young from the board of the Office for Students (OfS), but it is only the beginning of what is needed. If the OfS is to serve the interests of university students, universities, and society as a whole, much more profound changes are needed in its governance. | • We welcome the resignation of Toby Young from the board of the Office for Students (OfS), but it is only the beginning of what is needed. If the OfS is to serve the interests of university students, universities, and society as a whole, much more profound changes are needed in its governance. |
| Universities are by definition collegial, not authoritarian, institutions; if they are not collegial in their governance, they may bear the name “university” but they will not truly be universities, nor will they long be regarded as such. The government should acknowledge the difference between power and legitimacy and create spaces on the board of the OfS for representatives of the students and academic staff who comprise the universities. | Universities are by definition collegial, not authoritarian, institutions; if they are not collegial in their governance, they may bear the name “university” but they will not truly be universities, nor will they long be regarded as such. The government should acknowledge the difference between power and legitimacy and create spaces on the board of the OfS for representatives of the students and academic staff who comprise the universities. |
| As with any form of collegial governance, these representatives should be elected by the constituencies they represent, not appointed as creatures of the government. If Sam Gyimah wishes to build legitimacy within the universities, rather than merely ruling over them, he should begin consulting on this change in governance with the organisations representing students and academic staff, not just the senior managements of universities.Dr Bruce E Baker Newcastle UniversityProf Diana Paton University of EdinburghProf Justin Champion Royal Holloway, University of LondonDr Sarah Wilson University of StirlingDr Michael Pierse Lecturer, Queen’s University BelfastProf Nicky Priaulx Cardiff UniversityDr Stella Coyle Keele UniversityDr Douglas Chalmers Glasgow Caledonian University, UCU vice-presidentProf Michael Otsuka London School of EconomicsDr Charles Dannreuther University of LeedsProf Jennifer Saul University of SheffieldDr Ros Temple University of OxfordDr Simon Middleton University of SheffieldProf Richard Drayton King’s College LondonProf Pete Dorey Cardiff UniversityDr Jonathan Dean University of LeedsDr Sheena Cotter University of LincolnDr Emma Kennedy Queen Mary, University of LondonDr Erica Gadsby Senior research fellow, University of KentProf Dilwyn Marple-Horvat Manchester Metropolitan UniversityDr Ruth Stirton University of SussexProf Anna Grear Cardiff UniversityDr Arianne Shahvisi Brighton & Sussex Medical SchoolDr Mwenza Blell University of CambridgeDr Andrzej Zieleniec Keele UniversityDr Sharon Thompson Cardiff UniversityDr Saladin Meckled-Garcia University College LondonDr Judi Atkins Coventry UniversityDr Charlotte Skeet University of SussexProf Alison Phipps University of SussexDr Rebecca Roache Royal Holloway, University of LondonProf Nuno Ferreira University of SussexDr David Ridley Coventry University, UCU national executiveDr João Florêncio University of ExeterDr Sarah Campbell Newcastle UniversityProf Alan Bradshaw Royal Holloway, University of LondonDr Joseph Lawson Newcastle UniversityDr Nick Megoran Newcastle UniversityMary Jennings University of CambridgeMartin King Royal Holloway, University of LondonProf Steven French University of LeedsProf Des Freedman Goldsmiths, University of LondonProf Rebecca Gould University of BirminghamDr Simon Hewitt University of LeedsDr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick Birkbeck, University of LondonDr Michael Carley President, University of Bath UCUDr Sam Marsh University of SheffieldProf Jonathan Rosenhead London School of EconomicsProf Gargi Bhattacharyya University of East LondonDr Rachel Lara Cohen City, University of LondonProf Dennis Leech University of WarwickDr Kevin Moloney Bournemouth UniversityMargaret Chambers Imperial College LondonDr Jane Krishnadas Keele University, Community Legal Outreach Collaboration Keele convenerRichard W Farndale University of CambridgeBen Andrews University of WolverhamptonProf Haim Bresheeth School of Oriental and African StudiesDr Marion Hersh University of GlasgowDr Kirsten Forkert Birmingham City University, UCU joint branch chairChristina Paine London Metropolitan University, UCU vice-chair of women’s standing committeeJess Meacham University of SheffieldDr Helen Mayall Manchester Metropolitan UniversityDr Marian Duggan University of KentProf Kathryn Hollingsworth Newcastle UniversityDr Christine Byron Cardiff UniversityDr Martin Weinel Cardiff UniversityDr Jo Cairns Canterbury Christ Church UniversityDr Susan Newman University of the West of EnglandDr Kate Devlin Goldsmiths, University of LondonDr Bharat Malkani Cardiff UniversityDr Sarah L Taylor Keele UniversityDr Robert G Lee University of Central LancashireDr Samantha Fairclough University of BirminghamProf Frank Sengpiel Cardiff UniversityDr Mary Wrenn University of the West of EnglandDr Michal Nahman Senior lecturer, University of the West of England, BristolDr Helen Jarvis Newcastle UniversityProf John H Arnold University of CambridgeDr Katie Richards Cardiff UniversityDr Rachel Cahill-O’Callaghan Cardiff School of Law and PoliticsDr Joshua Forstenzer University of SheffieldDr Julia Downes Open UniversityProf Jon Mitchell University of SussexDr Linnie Blake Manchester Metropolitan UniversityDr Julie Hearn Lancaster University, UCU branch chair and national executive committee memberDr Sue Abbott Newcastle UniversityDr Marian Mayer Bournemouth University; chair, UCU southern regionDr Mark Abel Chair, University of Brighton UCU coordinating committeeMike Cushman London School of EconomicsMike Lammiman University of Hull, UCU branch vice-presidentDr David Bailey University of Birmingham, UCU branch secretaryDr Nils Markusson Lancaster UniversityJo McNeill University of Liverpool, UCU branch presidentProf Malcolm Povey University of LeedsDr Karen Evans University of LiverpoolHanna Steyne University of ManchesterDr Stephen W Smith Cardiff School of Law and PoliticsMehdi Husaini Teesside UniversityDr Geoff Abbott Newcastle UniversityDr Sean Wallis University College London, UCU NEC memberDr Alison Cameron Bangor UniversityProf Alastair Hudson University of Strathclyde | As with any form of collegial governance, these representatives should be elected by the constituencies they represent, not appointed as creatures of the government. If Sam Gyimah wishes to build legitimacy within the universities, rather than merely ruling over them, he should begin consulting on this change in governance with the organisations representing students and academic staff, not just the senior managements of universities.Dr Bruce E Baker Newcastle UniversityProf Diana Paton University of EdinburghProf Justin Champion Royal Holloway, University of LondonDr Sarah Wilson University of StirlingDr Michael Pierse Lecturer, Queen’s University BelfastProf Nicky Priaulx Cardiff UniversityDr Stella Coyle Keele UniversityDr Douglas Chalmers Glasgow Caledonian University, UCU vice-presidentProf Michael Otsuka London School of EconomicsDr Charles Dannreuther University of LeedsProf Jennifer Saul University of SheffieldDr Ros Temple University of OxfordDr Simon Middleton University of SheffieldProf Richard Drayton King’s College LondonProf Pete Dorey Cardiff UniversityDr Jonathan Dean University of LeedsDr Sheena Cotter University of LincolnDr Emma Kennedy Queen Mary, University of LondonDr Erica Gadsby Senior research fellow, University of KentProf Dilwyn Marple-Horvat Manchester Metropolitan UniversityDr Ruth Stirton University of SussexProf Anna Grear Cardiff UniversityDr Arianne Shahvisi Brighton & Sussex Medical SchoolDr Mwenza Blell University of CambridgeDr Andrzej Zieleniec Keele UniversityDr Sharon Thompson Cardiff UniversityDr Saladin Meckled-Garcia University College LondonDr Judi Atkins Coventry UniversityDr Charlotte Skeet University of SussexProf Alison Phipps University of SussexDr Rebecca Roache Royal Holloway, University of LondonProf Nuno Ferreira University of SussexDr David Ridley Coventry University, UCU national executiveDr João Florêncio University of ExeterDr Sarah Campbell Newcastle UniversityProf Alan Bradshaw Royal Holloway, University of LondonDr Joseph Lawson Newcastle UniversityDr Nick Megoran Newcastle UniversityMary Jennings University of CambridgeMartin King Royal Holloway, University of LondonProf Steven French University of LeedsProf Des Freedman Goldsmiths, University of LondonProf Rebecca Gould University of BirminghamDr Simon Hewitt University of LeedsDr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick Birkbeck, University of LondonDr Michael Carley President, University of Bath UCUDr Sam Marsh University of SheffieldProf Jonathan Rosenhead London School of EconomicsProf Gargi Bhattacharyya University of East LondonDr Rachel Lara Cohen City, University of LondonProf Dennis Leech University of WarwickDr Kevin Moloney Bournemouth UniversityMargaret Chambers Imperial College LondonDr Jane Krishnadas Keele University, Community Legal Outreach Collaboration Keele convenerRichard W Farndale University of CambridgeBen Andrews University of WolverhamptonProf Haim Bresheeth School of Oriental and African StudiesDr Marion Hersh University of GlasgowDr Kirsten Forkert Birmingham City University, UCU joint branch chairChristina Paine London Metropolitan University, UCU vice-chair of women’s standing committeeJess Meacham University of SheffieldDr Helen Mayall Manchester Metropolitan UniversityDr Marian Duggan University of KentProf Kathryn Hollingsworth Newcastle UniversityDr Christine Byron Cardiff UniversityDr Martin Weinel Cardiff UniversityDr Jo Cairns Canterbury Christ Church UniversityDr Susan Newman University of the West of EnglandDr Kate Devlin Goldsmiths, University of LondonDr Bharat Malkani Cardiff UniversityDr Sarah L Taylor Keele UniversityDr Robert G Lee University of Central LancashireDr Samantha Fairclough University of BirminghamProf Frank Sengpiel Cardiff UniversityDr Mary Wrenn University of the West of EnglandDr Michal Nahman Senior lecturer, University of the West of England, BristolDr Helen Jarvis Newcastle UniversityProf John H Arnold University of CambridgeDr Katie Richards Cardiff UniversityDr Rachel Cahill-O’Callaghan Cardiff School of Law and PoliticsDr Joshua Forstenzer University of SheffieldDr Julia Downes Open UniversityProf Jon Mitchell University of SussexDr Linnie Blake Manchester Metropolitan UniversityDr Julie Hearn Lancaster University, UCU branch chair and national executive committee memberDr Sue Abbott Newcastle UniversityDr Marian Mayer Bournemouth University; chair, UCU southern regionDr Mark Abel Chair, University of Brighton UCU coordinating committeeMike Cushman London School of EconomicsMike Lammiman University of Hull, UCU branch vice-presidentDr David Bailey University of Birmingham, UCU branch secretaryDr Nils Markusson Lancaster UniversityJo McNeill University of Liverpool, UCU branch presidentProf Malcolm Povey University of LeedsDr Karen Evans University of LiverpoolHanna Steyne University of ManchesterDr Stephen W Smith Cardiff School of Law and PoliticsMehdi Husaini Teesside UniversityDr Geoff Abbott Newcastle UniversityDr Sean Wallis University College London, UCU NEC memberDr Alison Cameron Bangor UniversityProf Alastair Hudson University of Strathclyde |
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