Everyone interested in higher education should read Being a University, a new book devoted to exploring the modern-day university in all its shapes and forms, argues Martin Ince.
You may have already heard of Ron Barnett, former director of the University of London’s Institute of Education and as a deep thinker about universities.
His latest book is an ambitious project which goes beyond the literature on “the idea of a university” and into a wide range of possible university futures.
As Barnett sees it, “higher education” has long ceased to be what universities are about. They have added research, consultancy, knowledge transfer and a range of other activities to this original mission. At the same time, the people in them are no longer just academics. They are facilitators, developers, entrepreneurs or members of a host of other tribes.
And despite the pressures they are under, from markets, governments and other forces, they still have plenty of autonomy about their position in the world. Barnett looks at what is involved in being a university by picturing a wide range of possible types of university, including the scientific, entrepreneurial, bureaucratic, corporate, liquid, therapeutic and even ecological. His account of what each of these entails is a fascinating look at the options.
Multiple identities
The scientific university (his term for the research university, which he prefers because of the dominance of science in their thinking) is the gold standard to which the universities which dominate rankings like to think they belong.
But in fact, all universities have a variety of characters.
Many are morphing into the entrepreneurial university. Such an institution does not just take financial risks. It also risks its reputation and its intellectual capital on an unpredictable future, for example by uncertain attempts to build a position as an arbiter of public policy.
Even more interesting from the point of view of university rankings is the bureaucratic university. As Barnett points out, universities are big and complex, so they are bound to need some form-filling. But people are their biggest cost and they tend to work hard, so you should not need too much of it.
Even so, universities all over the world have expanded bureaucracy as a prime way of organizing themselves. And the corporate university goes beyond even bureaucracy. Its objectives and policies are developed centrally and are independent of its academic aims.
It centralizes choices on spending, or on the balance of teaching and research, in the light of its own policies and information resources. Universities which are serious about high world ranking certainly incline to following this route.
Back to ethics
But these forms of university are not the last word. There is no need for all universities to become entrepreneurial or managerially-driven. They are more likely to become amoeba-like 'liquid universities', getting involved in a range of ways and around the world to make the most of intellectual and business opportunities.
This idea of a university is a generous one in which its resources become widely available, but it can leave the university without a strong ethical core of its own.
Universities can certainly exhibit bad faith when (for example) they claim to value teaching and research equally but give far more money to research. Even more challenging, and perhaps Barnett’s favored outcome, is the ecological university.
This is one which pays close attention to its environmental impact, of course, but also to all its other links to the rest of the world. Politicians and funders talk a lot about the “impact” of research. As Barnett points out, this approach might show that there are negative impacts as well as positive ones.
He is also right to stress that universities are part of a global knowledge economy that “shows no sign of receding.”
While university rankings give the impression that universities are independent organizations with their own policies and priorities, they are in fact dependent on the world around them.
International competition
Rankings reflect the fact that they compete worldwide for money, prestige and (he might have added) the top students and staff.
As Barnett points out, there are various ways of reading any international ranking of universities.
They remind universities that they are global organizations competing on a world stage. But they also point to the national importance of universities. Every country wants to be seen in the rankings, with as many universities as possible, as well-placed as possible.
In a fascinating passage, Barnett points out that in the contemporary university, reading a book is an academic activity now permitted only in what was once private time. You could make a profitable exception with this book, which is sure to sharpen your ideas about the way in which your institution is developing.
Being a University by Ronald Barnett, ISBN 978-0-415-59268-0, is published by Routledge.