The 2011 Education Bill continues its progress through parliament.
On Wednesday 9 November it will have its 3rd Reading in the House of Lords and is now only a short step from receiving parliamentary approval.
The significance here for higher education is that Section 8 of the Bill contains clauses enabling the government to set up to market rates of interest on student loans.
Once the bill is passed the government will finally be able to set the interest rates and repayment thresholds on the proposed student loan scheme.
Following some recent requests, here is an overview on the material on this website and elsewhere in relation to the recent white paper and the government’s plans for higher education more generally.
Suggestions for other material and comments in general are very welcome.
Short summaries
In the Wings: Deregulation and Private, for-profit Providers in the proposals for Higher Education (written on eve of last December’s vote on increasing tuition fee caps).
HE White Paper: a reckless gamble with university education
TV appearance on Channel 4 News on evening of the publication of the white paper
Longer Overviews – with John Holmwood and others
“Putting Vision Back into Higher Education: A Response to the Government White Paper”
“In Defence of Public higher education”
Articles on specific aspects of proposals and plans
A suggested order of reading.
1 Background to the White Paper and its delay – the new market conditions for new (for-profit) ‘providers’
‘New Providers’: the Creation of a Market in Higher Education’
2 Core/Margin model on Student recruitment
3 Loans
Sections of ‘Putting the Vision Back in Higher Education’ (co-written with John Holmwood)
Appendix to ‘In Defence of Public Higher Education’
4 ‘Privatisation’
Meaning of Privatisation in Higher Education
“2012: a ‘Big Bang’ in higher education?”
Middlesex Case Study: ‘The Truth about Middlesex’
‘First as Farce: higher education, the profit motive, and the New College of the Humanities’
A couple of articles have gone up in the last 24 hours.
A short article for the LSE blog, British Politics & Policy, summarising the research I have been doing for Research Fortnight.
Andrew
Now out in print and online, Part Three of the Research Fortnight series, The Third Revolution.
It follows on from Part Two, which covered the history of bonds issues by English universities, to look at the recent history of University of California. UC has close to $13 billion of bond debt and rapidly rising tuition fees.
It is currently available to those studying or working at subscribing institutions. Please choose the ‘campus access’ option on the right. If that doesn’t work, please contact your relevant research office for a login. If you still have trouble, please let me know.
“Financialisation, Monetisation, Privatisation: Creating the New Market in HE”
A talk by me on Friday 14 October at Senate House, London.
It’s for the Marxism in Culture group .
Under cover of austerity and deficit reduction, the government is engineering a new market in HE. How does a government accounting convention create a pricing mechanism? What new financial derivatives will mediate the sale of the student loan portfolio? Which legal forms will universities choose so as to better access private finance? Andrew McGettigan discusses the dark side of the recent white paper.
All seminars start at 5.30pm, and are held in the Wolfson Room (unless otherwise stated) at the Institute of Historical Research in Senate House, Malet St, London WC1E 7HU.
The Education Activists Network is holding a conference on Saturday 29 October 2011 in London.
Workshops include: Crimes against Humanities – from London Met to AC Grayling; The movement one year since Millbank; Alternatives to austrity; Organising casual workers; Protest and the police; Gender inequality in education; Building universities of international solidarity; ESOL, EMA and the fight for FE; Points-based immigration and the racist clampdown; Jobs, pensions, pay and the defence of education; Exposing the new managerialism
Speakers include: Ilan Pappé, John McDonnell MP, Laurie Penny, Peter Hallward, Alex Callinicos, Liam Burns NUS President, Alfie Meadows, Mark Campbell, Jacqueline Rose, Alberto Toscano, Katy Clarke MP, Owen Jones, Guy Aitchison, Zita Holbourne, and activists from UK Uncut, Greece, Spain and Egypt.
Facebook site for the event. I’ll be participating too.
Yesterday the Guardian helped launch ‘In Defence of Public Higher Education’.
The document is available from the website of Campaign for the Public University.
An online Q&A featuring some of the academics involved in the working group – John Holmwood, Howard Hotson and Danny Dorling – was hosted between 1pm and 3pm.
Thursday 13 October
Book launch for The Assault on Universities (ed. Michael Bailey & Des Freedman, Pluto Press).
‘The Assault on Universities: A Manifesto for Resistance’ is a new collection of essays on the challenges that face higher education today in the light of funding cuts and the ideological re-orientation of the idea of modern university. The book features several contributions by members of staff at Goldsmiths and contains a manifesto that has been signed by nearly 1000 academics and researchers.
Speakers on the night will include John McDonnell MP, Andrew McGettigan (Research Fortnight), Feyzi Ismail, Nick Couldry, Aeron Davis, Des Freedman, Natalie Fenton, Kirsten Forkert, Michael Bailey and Alberto Toscano.
Venue: Goldsmiths, LG01, New Academic Building Time: 6.30pm
From infinite thought:
lecturers defending students
This is a message to UK College/University lecturers and other staff in FE and HE:
This Autumn will see many of the students and other protesters from the last year charged with public order offences (particularly violent disorder, which carries a maximum five year prison sentence) in court. Cases will be heard over the next few months, and some trials are expected to last a few weeks. Some of those that have pleaded guilty have already received sentences of course, so now it’ll be the turn of those pleading not guilty to have their cases heard (most of them will be in Kingston Crown Court).
Living with the worry of prosecution and having to spend time talking to lawyers, attending court and so on is incredibly stressful and isolating. Gathering character references and contacting those willing to defend those charged in court takes a lot of work, and some students will be asking their lecturers (if they haven’t already) to put their names forward to do this. Defend the Right to Protest want to ask lecturers and other FE/HE staff who are willing to defend their students by attending court, offering moral support, writing articles etc. to come forward. We’ll shortly be compiling a list of the institutions that accused students attend to make it easier (without naming individual students), although if you are already aware of someone at your institution awaiting trial please get in contact.
Many lecturers attended the education protests in November and December and the TU protests and strikes this year, and are aware that the criminalising of students, protesters and those involved in the recent civil unrest is happening at high speed under the current government. If you believe in the reasons behind the protests, please get in touch to help us organise lecturers who want to defend their students in the months ahead.
Email infinitethought@hotmail.co.ukand we’ll arrange a meeting in the next few weeks for those lecturers and other staff who want to give support to their students in whichever way they can.
Critical Education 