bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Funding of Higher Education in the UK: a Contribution to the Debate
Authors: Walker Arthur , Wright Grahame A. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractIn this paper we review arguments that have been well rehearsed in the economic literature in the past twenty years and which are relevant to the present debate over student loans and the funding of the higher education sector.The body of the paper assesses four finding proposals: (1) The Government's mortgage‐type loan scheme, (2) The Barr, National Insurance repayment scheme, (3) The Graduate Tax and (4) A Loan scheme based on the individual higher education institution.Each proposal is assessed in terms of its efficiency impact in six dimensions, (i) set up costs and flexibility, (ii) administrative costs (iii) incentives (iv) information (v) the balance of public and private involvement, and (vi) equity.We conclude that, overall, we would not recommend any of the alternatives as unambiguously superior on all counts. Insofar as a radical approach is to be implemented we argue that a scheme based on the individual higher education institution, with repayment via the National Insurance system, is probably the best option.
The Composition of Governing Bodies of Higher Education Corporations
Authors: Bastin Nigel A. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThe Education Reform Act 1988 gave independence to polytechnics and the major colleges of higher education. From a position where they were the subject of tight and bureaucratic control by the maintaining local authorities, they have moved to one where responsibility for conducting their affairs in the hands of the small group of persons who constitute their governing bodies. This paper examines the composition of governing bodies in order to see the range of sizes adopted and how boards have been constituted within the permissible limits of the Act. It also touches upon some of the difficulties and ambiguities which have been created by the present legislation. A survey reveals that most institutions have decided to have larger boards which are not dissimilar to those which existed previously and few institutions have taken advantage of the flexibility of the Act and chosen to have small boards. It remains to be seem whether size and composition have any relevance to an institution's success or otherwise in the challenging years ahead.
Women Working in Higher Education: A Review of the Position of Women in Higher Education and Policy Developments
Authors: Jackson Daphne F. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThis review is concerned with the position of women in higher education, and particularly that of women staff at all levels. A set of statistics is presented to illustrate the UK scene. Similar infmnation is given for some other countries. There is an emphasis on comparison with Australia because the situation there is changing. The position of women academics is clearly revealed – there are not many, they have more difficulty than men in obtaining tenured positions and much more difficulty in obtaining promotion. Some of the causes and consequences of this situation are discussed.The development of policy needed to bring about change is examined with emphasis on the institutional attitudinal climate.
Higher Education and Fair Employment in Northern Ireland
Authors: Osborne R. D. , Cormack R. J. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractAs equal opportunities are assuming greater significance in higher education this paper examines the issue of fair employment in the two universities in Northern Ireland. The development of higher education and the evolution of fair employment policy which seeks to promote greater equality of opportunity in employment between Protestants and Catholics, are outlined. The employment practices and profiles of Northern Ireland's two universities are considered. Under the 1989 Fair Employment Act employment monitoring is a legal requirement for the two universities. The paper concludes by noting that other UK higher education institutions should undertake monitoring as a means of implementing equal opportunities policy.
Ethnic Minority Experience in Higher Education
Authors: Singh Ramindar 
Published: August 2007

AbstractIt appears that institutions of higher education in Britain are far behind the schools and colleges of further education in assessing the experience and success of ethnic minorities, and in developing and monitoring equal opportunity policies. The article starts with a review’ of currently available evidence from the literature on the participation rate of various ethnic groups in higher education. This is followed by a brief discussion of some key factors influencing their entry into higher education institutions. The information available to date indicates an uneven distribution of ethnic minorities between these institutions and the subjects they offer. The article contains the preliminary findings, from a research project, on the performance of students f om ethnic minority groups at Bradford & Ilkley Community College and four other institutions of higher education in the North of England. There is a brief discussion of some important issues, including racial discrimination and racial harassment, acting as barriers to the success of ethnic minorities in higher education. It is suggested that further research in this area is urgently needed to ensure that students from ethnic minority communities benefit equally from the higher education provision in Britain.
Market Forces in Higher Education
Authors: Howarth Alan 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThis article, by a Government Minister, sets in context and describes the developing role of market forces in higher education. Four markets are considered: for students; for graduates, research and other services; for academic staff; and for public funds. Limited market forces already operate in all these areas. Policies such as the shift to fees and student loans are expanding and focusing their role, offering new opportunities to higher education's providers and users. The national benefits are a more efficient and responsive system and fairer sharing of its costs.
The Student Market
Authors: Higgins M. A. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThe Government has set targets for an expansion in student numbers by the year 2,000 at a time when there is a dramatic fall in the numbers of school leavers. Institutions of higher education need to create new markets for student recruitment, both among mature people and also among 18 year‐olds, this latter implying a more realistic assessment of the ability of applicants to benefit from courses and a new approach to school leaving examinations. In order to maximise the exploitation of these markets, institutions must adopt a more serious attitude to admissions, treating them more as matters of policy rather than of administrative function. Unless higher education adopts aggressive marketing and selling practices it will lose out to employers in the competition for young people.
Issues in the Management of Social Science Research Centres1
Authors: Walker Robert 
Published: August 2007

AbstractRecent years have seen a marked increase in the number, size and importance of social science research centres. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), government departments and the universities have variously been responsible for this development, which has accompanied a greater emphasis on applied and multi‐disciplinary research. The business‐orientation of the centres has encouraged a new, managerial approach to research activity. Here, issues are discussed which relate to corporate development and performance control, finance, personnel, strategy and development, external relations, dissemination and utilisation. It is concluded that centres need to consolidate their role, and that this can only be achieved with the assistance of the sponsoring institutions.
Crossing Ulster's Other Great Divide
Authors: Birley Derek 
Published: August 2007

AbstractFollowing the report of the Lock‐wood Committee (196S), the Northern Ireland government greatly expanded its higher education provision by creating two new institutions, the New University of Ulster, modelled on the English ‘whitebrick’ foundations of the period, and a direct grant institution for advanced further education, Ulster College. The first part of the article describes the reaction of the century‐old Queen's University, Belfast and the new creations to the challenges of the Seventies, including the Ulster ‘troubles’, and to changing student demands and community needs.NUU soon began to experience difficulties in recruiting students, both in quality and quantity, whereas UC, which became a polytechnic in 1975, succeeded beyond expectations. In 1982, after a review by the Chilver Committee but against its recommendation, the Westminster government decided, as an alternative to closing NUU, to merge it with the polytechnic to form the University of Ulster. The article discusses the merger, and the alternatives to it, seeking to distinguish between that which was accidental to the Ulster situation and that which might have more general application. It considers the problems of co‐ordination, before and after the merger, including that of ‘complementarity’ between QUB and the University of Ulster. Finally it outlines the objectives of UU and the considerable progress made towards achieving them but sounds a cautionary note with regard to the social context in which it operates.
A Curricular Merger at a Medical College
Authors: Iredale Adrian 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThis article considers the planning undertaken jointly by the Medical Colleges of Saint Bartholomew's Hospital and the London Hospital to merge their two undergraduate medical curricula and develop a new innovative curriculum for 1990–91. Some of the institutional features which encouraged successful curriculum planning are described. The emphasis is placed on the mechanisms employed by the Colleges to reach their decisions rather than the details of what was decided.
Policy on Higher Education and Research: The Rede Lecture 1991
Authors: Swinnerton‐Dyer Sir Peter 
Published: August 2007

Abstract My main theme is the relationship between British universities and Government, how it is likely to change in the next few years, and what effect this will have on what universities do and how they do it. I shall discuss what I expect to happen, which is not always what I would wish to see; the weather forecaster who predicts cold and rain does not thereby declare himself a masochist.
Reviewing the Reviews: The Geography of University Rationalisation
Authors: Hoare Anthony G. 
Published: August 2007

Abstract Like many other sectors of the national economy, Britain's higher education (HE) has been rationalised in the 1980s, under central government directives as channelled through the actions of the University Grants Committee. Spatial arguments over the ‘where’ of university course provision have not featured prominently in the previous history of national HE policy, although a number of reasons can be suggested why they may matter. The paper reviews a major part of the rationalisation programme ‐ the UGC's subject‐specific reviews ‐ and finds the significance of spatial considerations varies appreciably among them, but for reasons not always easy to explain.
Dream, Myth and Reality: New Universities in England, 1960–1990
Authors: Perkin Harold 
Published: August 2007

Abstract The New Universities of the 1960s began as a dream and degenerated into a myth before waking up to reality. The dream was to reform English higher education by example: to recover advanced general education, restore small‐group teaching, renew interest in research, introduce cross‐disciplinary subjects, and rebuild community in green‐field, residential sites. Early euphoria turned to disillusionment, born of unrealistic expectations and student unrest. Finally, they achieved solid institutional success but failed to transform national higher education.
Quality: An Organising Principle for Higher Education?
Authors: Middlehurst Robin 
Published: August 2007

Abstract This paper discusses the barriers and opportunitites facing higher education when assessing the usefulness of ‘quality as an organising principle’ for institutions. Four general definitions of quality are identified alongside a number of operational dimensions of quality. Both internal and external pressures towards quality of performance and service are outlined. Private sector and higher education quality systems are examined, and conclusions are drawn which emphasize the challenges ahead for leaders of higher education institutions.
Making Audit Acceptable: A Collegial Approach to Quality Assurance
Authors: Becher Tony 
Published: August 2007

Abstract This paper summarises the preparations made for Academic Audit in the University of Sussex and concludes that participatory ‘bottom‐up’ procedures are more likely to be successful than heroic ‘top down’ measures. The Sussex scheme for quality assurance has been characterised by negotiation and the encouragement of middle managers and individual academics to take ownership of the procedures adopted.
Staff Development in Higher Education ‐ Towards the Learning Organisation?
Authors: Brown Helen 
Published: August 2007

Abstract The concept of the learning organisation is related to current and emerging practice in staff development, particularly in the Enterprise in Higher Education initiative. We examine the link between organisational development and individual development and argue that the current climate of rapid change makes a strategic and coherent approach particularly necessary. Key issues include the renegotiation of relationships between managers and professionals, the role of corporate strategy and the development of organisational cultures which are tolerant, but purposive. We conclude by describing the characteristics of staff development processes which have the capacity to enhance organisational learning.
A New Framework For Quality
Authors: Booth Clive 
Published: August 2007

Abstract Quality emerges as an important theme in the British Government White Paper,‘Higher Education: A New Framework’ published in May 1991. Quality in both research and teaching receive attention. This article looks particularly at the latter, the differing approaches on each side of the binary line, the likely remit of the emerging audit unit, the difficulties of quality assessment in a single higher education system and the criteria for determining how far degree awarding powers should be bestowed on smaller institutions.
Elegant and Democratic Values: How Will the New English Universities Gel?
Authors: Price Christopher 
Published: August 2007

Abstract This paper examines the respective cultures of universities and polytechnics under the former ‘binary’ system and goes on to consider the implications of this pattern for the development of the new unitary system. It is concluded that a ‘plurality of missions and cultures’ will emerge alongside the movement for an elite to a mass higher education system. The importance of a concern for quality in the learning experience of students and what this should mean in practice is put forward as a unifying factor in this diversity.
Student Loans: The Failure to Consolidate an Emerging Political Consensus
Authors: Farrell S. , Tapper E. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThis article contends that over a long period of time there was growing support for a student loan scheme. In the event, the Thatcher Government adopted proposals which failed to consolidate that emerging consensus. What was it about the Government's legislation that achieved this political own goal? How can such politically maladroit behaviour be explained? What elements should the legislation have contained if the consensus were to be firmed up and enhanced? These are the key questions which we attempt to answer in this article.
The Wisconsin Idea: Extending the Boundaries of a University
Authors: Corry Joe , Gooch James 
Published: August 2007

Abstract In 1862, through the Morrill (Land‐Grant) Act, the United States provided 30,000 acres of land within each congressional district so each state could use the proceeds to establish a state college of agriculture and mechanical arts. These so‐called ‘land‐grant universities’ have now expanded (academically and physically) to such a degree that many have ‘spawned’ large multicampus state university systems. This paper tells how a pioneer land‐grant institution, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, developed a world renowned outreach program and how the spirit and resources of that campus extension movement then spread to other campuses of the UW System.
A Merger that Failed: The Case of the University of New England
Authors: Harman Grant 
Published: August 2007

AbstractIn 1989–90 the University of New England combined with three colleges of advanced education in northern New South Wales to form a network university. Unfortunately the merger negotiations and the experience of this network university were marred by conflict and the network University is to split into two separate universities from 1 January 1994 at the latest. The paper provides a case‐study of the merger and tries to explain why the merger failed.
Creating a Binary Policy in Austria
Authors: Pratt John 
Published: August 2007

AbstractIn 1993, the Government of Austria passed legislation establishing a ‘binary policy’ in higher education. A new accrediting body the Fachhochschulrat was created, empowered to accredit vocationally oriented courses in any institution seeking to offer them. Institutions meeting certain conditions will be entitled to seek designation as Fachhochschulen. The policy marks an important departure from the traditionally highly regulated and centralized system of policymaking in Austria. The article offers an analysis of the factors leading to the policy and analyses the implications for the future. It draws on the author's experience as a member of a team of examiners from the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) undertaking a policy review of Austrian higher education, and points to lessons for Austria from the United Kingdom's experience over the last 25 years.
The Theory and Practice of Appraisal: Progress Review in a Scottish University
Authors: Wilson Fiona , Beaton Donald 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThe paper reports on the emerging trend in the university sector ‐ performance and its measurement. This is an initial and exploratory study of the practice of appraisal in a Scottish university. The study forms the first part of what will become a longitudinal study of appraisal. Following an introduction stressing the normative nature of appraisal in the literature, the research is set in the context of that theory. A brief history of appraisal's introduction into the university system nationally, as well as locally, is included. Locally the prescriptive lessons from the literature have been learned and used.However, the paper demonstrates the divide between the theory and practice of appraisal, showing the problems, strengths and weakness of the scheme as viewed by the participants. The problems include the fact that the scheme is seen as un‐necessarily bureaucratic and as imposed by government pressure. Secondly, it is impossible for the appraisee to escape from the judgement of the appraiser and a wider critical audience yet there are few objective criteria against which individuals can be judged. Thirdly, some individuals experience role overload with the competing demands on their time as academics. Some cloud issues of salary and promotions with appraisal despite the fact that the scheme has been devised to maintain a distinction between staff development and promotion and pay. Questions concerning equality of opportunity are also raised. If women are perceived to be inferior organizational members, how can they be appraised fairly? Is appraisal only going to reinforce negative stereotypes of women's academic performance? The paper concludes that appraisal is a very difficult political process and we should not be surprised if appraisers distort results particularly as they are being given the delicate role of both facilitator and judge.
Is Britain a Western European Country? A Multivariate Analysis of Western Higher Education Systems
Authors: Tight Malcolm 
Published: August 2007

AbstractUsing data collected by the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD), a multivariate analysis of 13 measures for 16 countries is carried out with the aim of identifying similarities and differences between national systems of higher education. The results support the view that the North American systems of higher education are distinctive in terms of their high participation rates. They suggest that there are significant variations within Europe, particularly in terms of demographic structures, participation and expenditure rates. Three possible sub‐groups are identified, focused on (i) Austria, Ireland, Italy and Spain; (ii) Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom; and (iii) Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Japan, the only Asian country included in the analysis, appears to be more similar to Finland than any other country.
Graduate Studies in the UK: Some Impressions and Suggestions
Authors: Holdaway Edward A. 
Published: August 2007

AbstractMany western countries are paying increasing attention to the organization and administration of graduate studies. Such attention has developed from primary concerns about completion times, completion percentages, programme quality, and student quality, as well as secondary concerns about supervisors, funding, coursework, inter‐organizational co‐operation, and policies and practices of both universities and research councils. Using information about British graduate programmes as a basis, the article presents policy issues related to research councils, funding councils, and control, followed by discussion of the themes of the nature of programmes, supervision and evaluation, completion time, quality, and innovation. The final sections address several concerns and offer some suggestions.
Trends and Tensions in IT Policy in Universities
Authors: Gardner John , Fulton John , Best Joanne 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThis paper charts developments in information technology policy in British universities from the creation of the Computer Board for Universities and Research Councils to the present day. Focusing on institutional issues, the various organizational tensions are examined in the context of quasi‐collegial policy formulation and management. The impact of operational tensions, arising from a variety of external and internal influences on the implementation of policy, is similarly assessed. The paper concludes with an outline of likely future trends.
Implementing the Process of Modularisation in Higher Education: Some Trans‐National Issues
Authors: Crossley Michael , Clarke Gill , Tabi Teophilus , Thomas Harold 
Published: August 2007

AbstractThis article examines the modularisation movement in higher education in the light of a comparative study of recent experience at the universities of Ghana and Bristol. Particular attention is given to an identification of motivating factors, both internal and external, and to an analysis of similarities and differences in the implementation of the modularisation process. The analysis focuses primarily upon perspectives articulated by government and administrators in the modularisation debate; but points to the need for further studies that more directly document the nature of the academic response.