Commercial ideology of universities is attacked
AFORMER head of the National Library of Wales who also worked in higher education for 24 years has lamented the “commercialisation” of Welsh universities.
In an article for the autumn edition of the current affairs magazine Planet, Andrew Green argues there is a need for debate about how universities should contribute in future to the public interest. Mr Green, a former member of the Council of Aberystwyth University who has chaired the board of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, writes: “Rapid expansion, a quasi-commercial ideology and marketisation have combined to have a serious impact on universities’ teaching policies, their relations with their neighbouring communities, those with their staff and students, and their own view of themselves and their functions.”
He refers to “merger mania, an infection contracted from big business” which, he says, faded almost as quickly as it had arisen.
“Whether it resulted in better universities is unclear,” states Mr Green.
He adds: “Merged or not, universities began to regard themselves not just as communities of learning working in the public interest, but as commercial enterprises freed from social constraint.
“Governments continue to pay directly for higher education: the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales will distribute £151m to Welsh universities in 2019-20.
“Privatising student fees, though, has encouraged universities to imagine that they are no longer part of the public sector, but independent entities – not just legally but commercially – which could behave like big businesses. In search of profit, some universities hunted students by opening campuses outside Wales or overseas, with unhappy results.”
Mr Green goes on to state: “Universities’ commitment to the cultural life of their localities has also wavered. In opening its new, government-financed arts centre Pontio, Bangor University has finally made up for the loss of Theatr Gwynedd.
“But Swansea University’s abrupt closure of its Ceri Richards Gallery in 2017 sent a depressing message to those looking to it for leadership in supporting the city’s cultural activity. One former Vice Chancellor once lamented that Aberystwyth’s Arts Centre was an embarrassment because it failed to turn in a healthy profit.
“Neo-liberalism, then, has largely
succeeded in flipping the prevailing view if higher education from being a public to a private good.
“University leaders have embraced commercial practices uncritically. Their policies have deepened internal inequalities, weakened wholehearted commitment to access and diluted community responsibility.”
A spokeswoman for Universities Wales, the representative body for the nation’s universities, responded: “Universities in Wales play a crucial and increasingly important role in driving the Welsh economy. Recent independent analysis found Welsh universities generated over £5bn of output in 2015/16 and over 50,000 jobs.
“Welsh universities continue to serve their local communities and expand the different ways they deliver on their civic mission. Dynamic and thriving universities are at the heart of local communities, serving as major employers, providing community spaces and services, and through efforts to widen access for locally disadvantaged students. This is crucial because Wales needs more graduates, including more part-time and mature students, to meet the needs of our changing economy. Demand is outweighing supply: employers have told the CBI that they expect the greatest demand for skills over the next three to five years will be for people with higher level skills.
“As well as pioneering research and innovation, with Wales having the highest proportion of world-leading research in terms of impact in the UK, Welsh universities are also leading when it comes to working in meaningful partnership with students and providing an excellent student experience. Wales had, for the second year running, the highest satisfaction in the 2019 National Student Survey and also is the best performing country for student retention in the UK.”