A UNIVERSITY VIEW
AS a vice-chancellor of a university for more than 15 years, I and other longer-serving colleagues have experienced at first-hand the considerable changes in the political climate in which the higher education sector operates.
Through all these changes, our mission or purpose as a university has remained constant – it has been, is today, and will be in the future – to equip and enable young people for a good career and a good life and for the benefit of their families and the wider community.
There have been many negative news stories about universities over the last year, including strike action by academics, levels of debt incurred by students, claims about intolerance and suppression of views on controversial issues, and salary levels of vice-chancellors.
The higher education system is not, of course, perfect and we have to accept that much of the negative coverage is at least partly justified. But the scale of the negative coverage is misleading and I worry that it risks alienating future generations of potential students and their parents.
The purpose of a university is to provide a stretching and encouraging learning environment to equip students with the problem solving, reasoning skills that will last them a lifetime of employment or business startup challenges; to provide them with the resilience and determination needed to navigate the myriad of life experiences; and to develop an inquiring mindset to engage actively in the democratic process.
Universities come in many different forms – some, have been around for centuries, others for mere decades. They present with different strengths – their world leading research or for others for the quality of their teaching. Some institutions celebrate their high bar to entry and academic exclusivity, whilst others advertise their accessibility and student support infrastructures.
The higher education sector is diverse, there is no “one size fits all”, and students must make a choice on the environment that is the “best fit” for their needs and interests.
The breadth of data metrics rating the HE sector can be confusing and the choice of university is a difficult one to make. It must not be forgotten that higher education is one of the UK’s great successes.
Prospective students and their families should be confident that the purpose of universities is to equip young people with the skills and character that will provide for a good life. In doing so the UK has what is widely acknowledged to be the second best higher education system in the world, second only to the United States.