The Trouble with Higher Education : A Critical Examination of Our Universities

The Troubles -- Expansion And Distortion -- A Mycelium Of Managers -- Modules And Mutilation -- A Thought Experiment -- Students As Customers -- Auditing Learning -- The Other Side Of Learning -- A Broader View -- Coping With Change -- Processing Or Progressing Students -- Some Conclusions. Trevor Hussey And Patrick Smith. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 137-142) And Index. The Trouble with Higher Education is a powerful and topical critique of the Higher Education system in the UK, with relevance to countries with similar systems. Based on the authors’ experiences that span over 30+ years of fieldwork, the issues discussed focus on the problems facing the principle responsibilities of universities: teaching, learning and research. The first half of the book identifies a number of problems that have followed the growth of mass education. It examines their causes and explains their damaging effects. The second half of the book offers a broad vision and makes a number of practical suggestions for ameliorating the problems and improving higher education. Supported by research, the suggestions include: ways of managing universities; proper inspection; better ways of organising students’ learning; improving teaching and learning; better approaches to assessment, and the proper use of ideas such as learning outcomes. Topics discussed include: Chronic under-funding, the replacement of student grants with loans and the introduction of tuition fees. The growth of managerialism. The emphasis on accountability and decline of trust. The growth of a competitive, market ethos. Modular degrees, knowledge treated as a commodity and students seen as customers. The drift towards a two-tiered system, with teaching colleges and research universities. Casualisation of the academic profession. The Trouble with Higher Education is aimed primarily at a professional audience of academics, educationalists, managers, administrators and policy makers, but would interest anyone concerned about higher education. It is suited to professional development courses, and Master’s and doctoral level studies. The Trouble with Higher Education is a powerful and topical critique of the Higher Education system in the UK, with relevance to countries with similar systems. Based on the authors experiences that span over 30+ years of fieldwork, the issues discussed focus on the problems facing the principle responsibilities of universities: teaching, learning and research. The first half of the book identifies a number of problems that have followed the growth of mass education. It examines their causes and explains their damaging effects. The second half of the book offers a broad vision and makes a number of practical suggestions for ameliorating the problems and improving higher education. Supported by research, the suggestions include: ways of managing universities; proper inspection; better ways of organising students learning; improving teaching and learning; better approaches to assessment, and the proper use of ideas such as learning outcomes. Topics discussed include: Chronic under-funding, the replacement of student grants with loans and the introduction of tuition fees. The growth of managerialism. The emphasis on accountability and decline of trust. The growth of a competitive, market ethos. Modular degrees, knowledge treated as a commodity and students seen as customers. The drift towards a two-tiered system, with teaching colleges and research universities. Casualisation of the academic profession. The Trouble with Higher Education is aimed primarily at a professional audience of academics, educationalists, managers, administrators and policy makers, but would interest anyone concerned about higher education. It is suited to professional development courses, and Master s and doctoral level studies."

The Trouble with Higher Education is a powerful and topical critique of the Higher Education system in the UK, with relevance to countries with similar systems. Based on the authors' experiences that span over 30 years of fieldwork, the issues discussed focus on the problems facing the principal responsibilities of universities: teaching, learning and research.

Research-based, the first half of the book identifies a number of problems that have followed the growth of mass education. It examines their causes and explains their damaging effects. The second half of the book offers a broad vision and makes a number of practical suggestions for ameliorating the problems and improving Higher Educations.

Topics discussed include:

Chronic under-funding, the replacement of student grants with loans and the introduction of tuition fees.

The growth of managerialism.

The emphasis on accountability and decline of trust.

The growth of a competitive, market ethos.

The Trouble with Higher Education is aimed primarily at a professional audience of academics, educationalists, managers, administrators and policy makers, but would interest anyone concerned about Higher Education. It is suited to professional development courses, and master's and doctoral level studies.

Book Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Preface 7 1 The Troubles 12 2 Expansion and Distortion 20 3 A Mycelium of Managers 30 4 Modules and Mutilation 40 5 A Thought Experiment 48 6 Students as Customers 56 7 Auditing Learning 66 8 The Other Side of Learning 76 9 A Broader View 86 10 Coping with Change 112 11 Processing or Progressing Students 128 12 Some Conclusions 140 References 148 Index 154 Education, Politics & IR, Sociology & Social Policy This title is a powerful and topical critique of the higher education system in the UK, with relevance for countries with similar systems. The issues discussed focus on the problems facing the principle responsibilities of universities: teaching, learning and research