The Imperfect University: 2013 collection

Because universities are still difficult, but still worth it With the latest post, on Robbins, we are now up to a total of 18 pieces to date in the Imperfect University series. Covering a wide range of occasionally relevant issues I do hope there is something for everyone in here. And there is a question …

Developing the UK’s international education strategy

But the report strikes a few wrong notes.Back in July 2013 the Department for Business Innovation and Skills published its International education strategy: global growth and prosperity. For some reason it passed me by, despite its ambition:This strategy sets out how the government and the whole education sector will work together to take advantage of …

Voting for Committees

Faculty Representation in Governance. An interesting piece on faculty representation in governance the Chronicle of Higher Education. The argument is that faculty representation in governance structures is not always ideal: Perhaps this will sound familiar from your campus: Some appalling, or just bizarre/confusing, initiative will come down the pike, and faced with faculty protests, the …

The Imperfect University: the first chapter

Because universities are difficult, but worth it This year there have been a dozen posts in the Imperfect University series. Covering leadership, staff mobility, regulation, governance in Scotland and Virginia, not so revolutionary online provision, the CDBU and more regulation, there was I hope something of interest for many in here somewhere. The Imperfect University …

The Imperfect University: the year to date

Because universities are difficult, but worth it With the latest post, on why administrators really do matter in universities,  we are now up to a total of 11 pieces to date in the Imperfect University series. Covering leadership, staff mobility, regulation, governance in Scotland and Virginia, not so revolutionary online provision, the cult of efficiency …

The Imperfect University: Governance challenges at the University of Virginia

University of Virginia: considerable turbulance at the top A rather topical post for the latest in the Imperfect University series. There have been some extraordinary goings on at the University of Virginia. To the surprise of just about everyone the University's Board of Visitors (its governing body) decided two weeks ago to remove the President, …

The Imperfect University: the story so far

Because universities are difficult, but worth it I've managed six posts to date in the Imperfect University series to date. Covering leadership, regulation, governance in Scotland, not so revolutionary online provision and more regulation I hope I've managed to offer something a bit more substantial here. Anyway, I'd be grateful for any feedback on the …

David Willetts on internationalisation via sharing university statutes

An interesting idea? At the recent HEFCE Annual Conference the Universities Minister, David Willetts, delivered a wide-ranging speech which included a couple of interesting points on internationalisation: Since becoming universities minister, I have worked hard with UUK's excellent international office and of course the British Council in forging partnerships with other countries: with China, India, …

The Imperfect University: Reviewing Higher Education in Scotland

Report of the Review of Higher Education Governance in Scotland  As we have seen in the previous post in this series on regulation, governments, although they will often talk the language of freedom and autonomy, cannot help but get themselves involved in the regulation of higher education. However, Scotland is different and higher education in …

LSE and Libya: The Woolf Inquiry

Woolf reports on LSE's Libyan Links And it's a compelling read: The Woolf Inquiry was set up on 3 March 2011 following criticism of LSE’s links to Libya and the resignation of the Director, Sir Howard Davies. The terms of the Inquiry were as follows: An independent inquiry to establish the full facts of the …

Should more alumni take governance roles?

A new report on governance: "University governance - questions for a new era" This is an interesting pamphlet from HEPI written by Professor Malcolm Gillies who has clearly been on the receiving end of a fair bit of governance. One of his core suggestions which is picked up by Times Higher Education is that alumni …

Cambridge avoids extra accountability (for a while at least)

"Cambridge dons retain control of university" According to the Guardian, Cambridge has fended off pressure to change the composition of its Council to include a lay majority. The extent of the additional accountability requirement which has been agreed seems to be an annual meeting between the chair of the Audit Committee and a Hefce officer: …