Andrew McGettigan

Thatcher’s children seek ‘independence’ for universities

by Andrew McGettigan April 10, 2013

The Thatcherite ‘Free Enterprise Group’ made up largely of 2010 intake MPs have published a report on higher education funding; ‘Completing the Reform, Freeing the Universities’. It argues that financial independence and stability for universities can be achieved by building up endowment funds. Not a new idea by any means, but it is important to understand thinking about universities emanating from a group of MPs that contain current government ministers and others tipped to lead the Conservative Party one day.

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NCH – new company structure

by Andrew McGettigan September 3, 2012

Private investment is about to boom in the UK and we need to be clear about the complex mechanisms being employed. Something bugs me about Anthony Grayling and the way he presents New College of the Humanities. Nothing is ever quite as it seems. This is an investigation into recent changes to NCH that will be of interest to anyone paying attention to the way the sector is changing behind the scenes.

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‘Seriously deficient’: or Whither London Met? or Where’s Willetts?

by Andrew McGettigan August 31, 2012

On Wednesday night the news broke at 10pm: the UK Border Agency confirmed the revocation of London Metropolitan University’s ‘highly trusted sponsor’ status. This means that London Met is no longer able bring in non-EU students into the UK to study under the ‘Tier 4’ visa scheme.

In fact, the move is more draconian in that such students currently studying at London Met will have their visas withdrawn: at least 2000 face deportation within 60 days of official notification, unless they can find another sponsor. Effectively they must find a place on another course at another institution.

By what extent is this disastrous episode a symptom of wider political and administrative failures? Last year’s HE white paper made it clear that the government was no longer prepared to act as the backer of last resort, perhaps making London Met’s situation even more precarious.

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London Met – outsourcing? or something else?

by Andrew McGettigan August 23, 2012

I carry with me at all times a 2009 report for Universities UK prepared by the legal firm Eversheds. Why? On page 7 of ‘Developing future university structures’, you will find a diagram entitled ‘A model for university buyouts’. I suggest you look at that diagram and then read the stories about London Metropolitan University’s intentions to ‘outsource’ all staff besides teaching staff and vice-chancellor. What they are doing is something new; they aim to create a vehicle to run universities across the UK.

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The Pearson BSc

by Andrew McGettigan August 14, 2012

The media today has been covering the public launch of Pearson College. The new offering from the education publishing giant sees it move into full undergraduate degrees from the HNCs and HNDs it offers through its subsidiary, the examination board Edexcel. This post looks at the interesting changes to Pearson’s business model that have taken place which tells us a lot about the current state of HE reform.

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The Budget and universities

by Andrew McGettigan March 22, 2012

The headline stories will be about funding for research and innovation including a centre for research in aerodynamics, two new catapult centres for Transport Systems and Future Cities: “These will bring together world leading IT companies, innovative SMEs and leading universities to commercialise technologies that will increase efficiency and improve the quality of life for transport users and city residents.” There is also £100 million for new university research facilities designed to attract ‘co-investment’ from the private sector. This may tie-in with January’s announcement from David Willetts about new private postgraduate and research ‘universities’.

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The state we’re in

by Andrew McGettigan February 27, 2012

With so much going on in the political and policy landscape, it is a good time to ask ‘where are we with respect to the Government’s plans for higher education?’ This post will set out why I think we should expect primary legislation in 2013 and give a run-down of other recent developments that are important to keep in mind as we look ahead to what might be in store for the future.

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HE White Paper: a reckless gamble with university education

by Andrew McGettigan July 12, 2011

The Government’s White Paper, Higher Education: Students at the Heart of the System, is a reckless gamble with university education in England. An opportunistic, ideologically-driven document, it uses the excuse of deficit reduction to transfer much of the burden of financing undergraduate degrees, which it conflates with training for employability, to the individual graduate; it promotes consumerism and competition with a view to producing a wide variation in the resources available to institutions so as to stratify degree quality; it misrepresents social mobility accordingly by advocating the slotting of ‘talent’ into its appropriate tier; it presents a charter for privatization with a calculated attack on the notion of the public university, both creating conditions that support new, ‘alternative’ providers with public money (some potentially for-profit) and promising to make it easier for established universities to ditch their charitable status to increase access to private finance.

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