The Role of A University

I read a blog on my old School's website about how students selected universities, the role those universities play in the UK and I wanted to reply. Here's my reply to the headmaster who is also in charge of the University Brief at the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference which brings together heads of many leading private schools.


Dear Mr Ramsey,

Just to prove how widely your blog is read, I am an OKS from 2001 and keep my eye on your blog for its comments on current eduction trends and updates about Kings. It is a different school to my day but the values seem to resonate through the years.

Since leaving school, I took a degree in French at the Universities of Warwick & Grenoble and a Masters in Broadcast Journalism at Sheffield University before taking a job in International Business Development at Roehampton University, putting together international research and teaching projects. I am currently a Research Development Officer at the University of Westminster where I "sell" research in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities & Languages to UK & European Research Councils, foundations, government departments and business as well as helping develop the research culture and preparations for the Research Excellence Framework assessments. In addition to this, I'm 4 out of 5 years through my PhD (in my spare time!) on European Higher Education Policy. Which leads me to a unique (if personal!) view of Higher Education. Which brings me to 2 points on your blog.

1. I agree with your advice on visiting an institution on an ordinary day. That's how I fell in love with Warwick and knew that would be my home. However, I'm not as keen on the National Student Survey (NSS) and it has a mixed reputation amongst universities and Students' Unions. It's not just because it doesn't give the answer we want (!) but issues with the questions asked and how the data is collected. Response rates vary hugely both between institutions and between individual courses at a single institutions. Conclusions are drawn from surprisingly low percentages of students on programmes. I was told by Mr Neal (I think, it could have been Dr Heritage my form tutor) when I applied to look at the percentage of students getting 1st/2:1s as this shows how well academics are teaching the talent they welcome. It's a good metric and the stats from HEFCE are based on entire student bodies on a programme rather than partial snap shots.

2. The main reason for writing is your comment on why our decision makers are based in Business, Innovation & Skills. It makes sense to those of us working in Universities. Though 18 year olds coming for tertiary level education are the focus of our reputation and our media presence, their significance is a bit more mixed. Yes, the majority of our income comes from them but we make more money on Taught Masters which is a sector-wide growth area and the most profitable area is student accommodation lettings. Universities have a rapidly growing portfolio of Continuing Professional Development opportunities and opportunities for more mature learners, a significant market in a country with an ageing population. However, though Government would want us to grow these areas and thus is part of the reason we are included in BIS, the primary reason is Research. Teaching is often only a third of an academic's contract. Academics see themselves as researchers; their PhDs are not for teaching or "knowledge transfer" activities but for their research. Universities offer a lot in terms of economic growth through research and, indeed, it is one of the things that makes us distinctive. Universities contribution is not just about education but about furthering knowledge. Some (more political) people might say it gives us the excellent Willets rather than the more divisive Give but I try not to be as partisan!

I suspect none of this comes as a surprise to you given your role on the HMC but in the spirit of discussion inspired by both the Internet and my education at King's I thought I would send a few thoughts.

With all good wishes to you and the school,
Christopher Grinbergs