What Consequence UK Plans to Beat Global Higher Education Competitors. (August 29, 2008)

While the Rudd Labor government awaits the results of its clutch of reviews regarding various aspects of education, learning, research and innovation the UK government at the end of February set a 15-year deadline to equip its higher education system to meet and beat its global competitors.

The Secretary of State, John Denham, for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Dius) set in place, with considerable fanfare, a series of reviews ostensibly to spark an informed debate about the future of higher education in Great Britain over the next 10 to 15 years.

Click Here to view a two-minute appeal from Mr Denham

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Now seven months later The Guardian's Anthea Lipsett writes: "The time for commenting is drawing to a close, as vice-chancellors report back – on everything from university teaching to the number of students there will be in the future – this autumn."

But so far there seems to be a significant degree of ennui within the higher education sector.

Ms Lipsett speculates academics have come to the conclusion that despite Mr Deham's pleading, the government is just going through the motions of seeking submissions. For one thing the matter of tuition fees is not under consideration for this round -- not until 2009.

And there is the fear factor: "What about academic standards? That's still a thorny issue for universities, with some academics afraid to speak out or mark down their students for fear of tainting the university's reputation and losing their jobs."

And of course there is the mastodon in the room - that Research Assessment Exercise and its projected reincarnation.

In contract to the apparent disinterest shown in Mr Denham's reviews the  Review of the National Innovation System, and the Higher Education Review have garnered over a thousand submissions between them, probably because of the hope that the newly installed government really does want to move proactively into the 21^st century.

We live in hope.