David Palfreyman

What is a university? What is the University? How have universities evolved over the centuries? How might they change over the coming decades as the physical and organisational entity most identified with 'higher education' being delivered to over 250 million students? What will be the impact of digital- and distance-learning, of commercial for-profit new entrants to the higher education market, of government austerity, of globalization, of student consumerism? Exploring the origins and the concept, the idea and the ideal, of the university, this Very Short Introduction discusses one of the world's oldest, most resilient, and most adaptable institutions. David Palfreyman and Paul Temple consider the links between universities and the economy, and the role of universities within society. Highlighting some of the key questions surrounding the position of universities, they ask how the university can be politically accountable for its taxpayer funding, if it needs to be autonomous to function effectively as a public good. Are professors professional enough in their teaching practices at a time that increasing tuition fees transform students more and more into consumers? And just what does 'academic freedom' for university faculties really entail? ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Much of our writing re?ects a long-term commitment to the analysis of the col- gial tradition in higher education. This commitment is re?ected most strongly in Oxford and the Decline of the Collegiate Tradition (2000), which we are pleased to say will re-appear as a considerably revised second edition (Oxford, The Collegiate University: Con?ict, Consensus and Continuity) to be published by Springer in the near future. To some extent this volume, The Collegial Tradition in the Age of Mass Higher Education, is a reaction to the charge that our work has been too narrowly focussed upon the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (Oxbridge). Not surpr- ingly, you would expect us to reject that critique, while responding constructively to it. The focus may be narrow, and although the relative presence and, more arguably, the in?uence of Oxford and Cambridge may have declined in English higher e- cation, they remain important national universities. Moreover, as the plethora of so-called world-class higher education league tables would have us believe, they also have a powerful international status. This, however, is essentially a defensive response dependent upon the alleged reputations of the two universities. This book is intent on making a more substantial argument. To examine the c- legial tradition in higher education means much more than presenting a nostalgic look at the past.

The global economic crisis has required governments across the globe to reconsider their spending priorities. It is within this demanding economic context that higher education systems have been steadily restructured with in many ways the English model in the vanguard of change. This book focuses in particular upon the policy of removing almost entirely public support for the payment of student fees. This has emerged from a steady process of change, which has broad political support and is underwritten by the idea that higher education is now seen more as a private than a public, good. As this shift has occurred (not a new innovation but rather a return to what once prevailed as more of a market in English higher education) so the relationship between government and the higher education has evolved with the latter now attempting to steer the development of the system through a state-regulated market. The book has a strong comparative dimension that draws upon US higher education to illustrate both the possible advantages and potential hazards to the marketization strategy. It concludes that any such strategy needs to be accompanied by state regulation if it is to function effectively, particularly to stimulate price competition, encourage innovation from new entrants, and provide consumer protection for students paying high fees.

Oxford is one of the world’s great universities but this has not meant that it is exempt from pressures for change. On various fronts it has been required to meet the challenges that universities almost worldwide have to face. Given the retrenchment of public funding, especially to support undergraduate teaching, it has been required to augment its financial base, while at the same time deciding how to respond to pressure from successive governments determined to use higher education to achieve their own policy goals. While still consistently ranked as a world-class university, it has to decide how it is to acquire the funding to continue in this league, or whether this goal is worth pursuing. Oxford is a collegiate university, which means its colleges share with the University responsibility for the delivery of its central goals. Is this balance of authority shifting over time? If so, how is this to be accounted for, and what are the likely outcomes for the collegiate university? This book sets out to address these questions and arrives at an essentially positive conclusion. Oxford will continue to remain an effective collegiate university and, while its identity will change, its central character will persist.

Oxford is one of the world’s great universities but this has not meant that it is exempt from pressures for change. On various fronts it has been required to meet the challenges that universities almost worldwide have to face. Given the retrenchment of public funding, especially to support undergraduate teaching, it has been required to augment its financial base, while at the same time deciding how to respond to pressure from successive governments determined to use higher education to achieve their own policy goals. While still consistently ranked as a world-class university, it has to decide how it is to acquire the funding to continue in this league, or whether this goal is worth pursuing. Oxford is a collegiate university, which means its colleges share with the University responsibility for the delivery of its central goals. Is this balance of authority shifting over time? If so, how is this to be accounted for, and what are the likely outcomes for the collegiate university? This book sets out to address these questions and arrives at an essentially positive conclusion. Oxford will continue to remain an effective collegiate university and, while its identity will change, its central character will persist.

Much of our writing re?ects a long-term commitment to the analysis of the col- gial tradition in higher education. This commitment is re?ected most strongly in Oxford and the Decline of the Collegiate Tradition (2000), which we are pleased to say will re-appear as a considerably revised second edition (Oxford, The Collegiate University: Con?ict, Consensus and Continuity) to be published by Springer in the near future. To some extent this volume, The Collegial Tradition in the Age of Mass Higher Education, is a reaction to the charge that our work has been too narrowly focussed upon the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (Oxbridge). Not surpr- ingly, you would expect us to reject that critique, while responding constructively to it. The focus may be narrow, and although the relative presence and, more arguably, the in?uence of Oxford and Cambridge may have declined in English higher e- cation, they remain important national universities. Moreover, as the plethora of so-called world-class higher education league tables would have us believe, they also have a powerful international status. This, however, is essentially a defensive response dependent upon the alleged reputations of the two universities. This book is intent on making a more substantial argument. To examine the c- legial tradition in higher education means much more than presenting a nostalgic look at the past.

For centuries, the idea of collegiality has been integral to the British understanding of higher education. This book examines how its values are being restructured in response to the 21st-century pressures of massification and managerialism.

For centuries, the idea of collegiality has been integral to the British understanding of higher education. This book examines how its values are being restructured in response to the 21st-century pressures of massification and managerialism.