The missing mission
Back in 1997, the man who would be elected Britain’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair, declared his three top priorities for [...]
Posted on April 8th, 2010 by Steven Schwartz
Back in 1997, the man who would be elected Britain’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair, declared his three top priorities for government – “Education, education, and education.”
Move forward 13 years and the UK is in general election mode again, with polling day set down for May 6 and Gordon Brown now in the hot seat vacated by Blair in 2007. It’s not correct to say that education has fallen off the radar, but no-one as yet has declared it to be their top priority.
Instead, Britain’s battered economy is the main focus and whoever wins “faces having to tackle a crippling budget deficit of at least 167 billion pounds and a fragile economy which some experts say could still dip back into recession”.
You can read where the major parties stand on education here.
But the outlook is not great for England’s universities with one higher education writer offering this gloomy prognosis:
“Bullied by business, run like a commercial concern but lumbered with public sector constraints, pushed and pulled in all directions with ever-increasing demands to prove the worth of what it does, in an environment where process is valued over innovation and imagination, the university is slowly having its mission diluted to the point where it is in danger of losing the very thing that makes it special: its USP.”
Left unsaid is exactly what this “special purpose” might be. Is it to serve the economy?
Certainly that is what the First Secretary, Lord Mandelson, thinks. He wants to make sure that “the leading edge research in our universities makes the journey to new commercial technologies”.
But conducting commercially relevant research cannot be the “special” purpose of universities. Lots of organisations, public and private, conduct commercial research, often more efficiently than universities.
Perhaps the reason “the university is slowly having its mission diluted” is because those of us who work in the university have not been able to articulate a compelling argument about just what our special mission should be.
- Steven Schwartz
Comments
Certainly universities in Australia are being run like a business. Students don't seem to be paying for education, they seem to be buying a degree and are ill-equipped once they actually are abandoned in the real world. Steven Schwartz's new curriculum reforms seem to address this concern to some extent, however, criticisms of a commercial pursuit still stand. This seems particularly so in the context of the law school which has been subsumed into the arts faculty. Ultimately, however, I do agree that more needs to be done to make sure people are equipped with an education and not just a piece of paper to hang on their wall. After all they can buy that online if they please.
David - April 8, 2010
This question of mission driven fascinates me and this is particularly the case within the education sector. The challenges in the UK education sector I believe are part of the overall global challenge for the sector. That is Universities tend to shy away from strategic planning like its a desease and more often then not strategic planning is interpreted as financial planning only. This is why the sector becomes a pawn in the ever changing environment it which it exists. The sector cannot be sustainable unless it clearly knows and articluates its purpose and mission.
Deidre Anderson - April 9, 2010
Macquarie's mission statement used to be "And Gladly Teach" - a teaching focus. Today, teaching takes second place to research, research grant applications, producing publications and so on. Academic staff are hired on their research credentials; their teaching ability is a secondary consideration - the "anyone can teach" attitude. Many researchers don't like teaching at all and this translates to a poor learning experience for students. Macquarie should decide whether its mission includes a primary focus on teaching and learning. If teaching is not the primary focus then students are being shortchanged as they typically come to university and pay fees to learn life and vocation skills. If teaching is not the primary mission at Macquarie, then come clean and tell the students so they can choose a university where they will get a better learning experience. Response from Professor Judyth Sachs, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Provost: Teaching lies at the heart of a research-intensive university like Macquarie and we acknowledge the centrality of teaching by rewarding staff on the basis of excellence in teaching and encouraging continual improvement in teaching quality. Over the past three years there have been several major initiatives that reinforce the centrality of teaching. For example, the revised promotions policy provides opportunity for staff to be rewarded for the excellence of their teaching (alone) for levels B and C; whilst applicants for level D must demonstrate excellence in two out of the three academic criteria (ie, teaching, research and community engagement) and level E applicants must demonstrate excellence in all 3 criteria. Teaching Esteem Factors are rewarded through the Teaching Index - where Departments receive additional funding to commit to learning and teaching based on the teaching awards, grants, qualifications in teaching, publications and conference presentations on the teaching of their discipline. Likewise the University provides money for Teaching Infrastructure in addition to Research Infrastructure - and in 2010 $1.5m was available for faculties to bid for their teaching infrastructure needs. This is in addition to the monies put aside for Teaching Grants and Teaching Awards (where the University is not only rewarding staff through Vice-Chancellor's Awards but is also paying from central funding to ensure that there is money for teaching excellence awards at the level of the faculty). Revitalised Learning and Teaching Committees of Academic Senate and in all Faculties are renewing curricula and teaching processes and policies; whilst at the centre the Learning and Teaching Centre and the Library are integrating services to assist learning and teaching right across the University. Macquarie values teaching - and all staff are encouraged to participate in Macquarie's Learning and Teaching Week (20th -24th September) where examples of teaching excellence from across the University will be on show. Our motto ... and gladly teche is certainly central to the values and priorities of the University. Professor Judyth Sachs, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Provost
John Reid - April 12, 2010
4 Students Options about Learning Programs Programs online offer students options in almost every area of trade and professional work. Students interested in obtaining a degree online can use their skills and passions to decide on a program. Online schools offer numerous certification and degree programs. Students interested in jobs and careers that require higher education will find courses and programs that fit the required education to enter those careers.
alan - April 13, 2010
"Macquarie values teaching," the Vice VC tells us. Maybe... certainly more so than teachers themselves and their opinions. For most every academic I speak with feels that their voice was not heard, at at times actively suppressed, regarding the creation and implementation of the new curriculum, which they feel has been forced upon them, without adequate staff consultation. In the same critical vein, I request Ms Sachs refrain from refusing to post my comments on this blog, all of which adhere to your stated blog etiquette. Perhaps to your great disappointment, Macquarie does not have 'one voice'; open the lines of communication, critique and debate, and thereby disprove the people, myself included, who dismiss this blog and mere Schwartz PR.
Michael John Rogers - April 15, 2010
I have seen first hand the improvements to teaching that are happening across campus and very much appreciate the Deputy Vice Chancellor's statement. Also this year I saw an academic with a terrible teaching record promoted to Professor, which I initially thought was quite appalling. However, I have realised that while there will always be examples of teaching getting short-shrift somewhere, I bet you can find 5 examples of the opposite if you care to look. I did, and I found them. Finally, I _am_ still curious to know how the University plans to balance both teaching and research. While not mutually exclusive skills, I know very few academics who excel at both.
Tom - April 16, 2010