University of Derby the Student As Customer: a Study of the Intensified
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University of Derby The Student as Customer: a study of the intensified marketisation of higher education in England Kuldeep Banwait Doctor of Education 2017 Acknowledgements Having previously been a HND Business student at the University of Derby 24 years ago, it seemed fitting to return to complete my last formal leg of education there. The journey of undertaking the Doctorate in Education (EdD) has been a roller coaster, there have been many people who have been on the journey with me at some point, but never the less significant and there are others who have been stuck in the car from start to finish! I don’t have space to acknowledge everyone but I would like to recognise, appreciate their support and understanding of the commitment I took on. Firstly, I would like to thank the people who participated in the study for without them there would be no study, their patience and trust was outstanding. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the University of Derby for allowing the research to be undertaken, for supporting my study and also my colleagues, in particular Barry Blackham, Christine Harrop-Griffiths, Christine Jones, Alison Lawson, Keith Horton and John Coyne for the encouragement to continue and complete it. A special mention goes to my supervisor, Professor Dennis Hayes, whose insights were sharp, also for his advice, mentoring and encouragement throughout this journey. I would also like to thank Dr Charles Hancock and Dr David Longbottom. Charles my best friend and David also a close friend, mentor, role model and father figure for guiding and believing in me along each leg of the journey, keeping me inspired through highs and lows. A special thank you goes to Aidan Cox and Daanish Siddiqui for their support with the formatting and proof reading. Much thanks to my immediate friends and family for putting up with the amount of time we have missed over the last five and half years through undertaking this study, especially my Mum, Dad, Brother, Sister and Daughter, I am back now. This study is dedicated to my late wife Baljinder Sihota who inspired me to start this journey, and would be proud to see me achieve this milestone. i | P a g e Glossary of terms BIS Department of Business, Innovation & Skills BP British Petroleum CBI Confederation of British Industry CRM Customer Relationship Management DfES Department for Education and Skills HE Higher Education HEI’s Higher Education Institutions IPA Interpretative phenomenological analysis KIS Key Information Set MU Modern Universities NSS National Student Survey NUS National Union of Students OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OFFA Office of Fair Access OIA Office of Independent Adjudicator OU Older Universities PA Policy Analysts PU Private Universities RRA Relative Risk Aversion SM Senior Managers SRC Social Rational Choice STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths TEF Teaching Excellence Framework UCAS Universities and Colleges Admissions Service UCG University Grants Committee UK United Kingdom ii | P a g e The Student as Customer: a study of the intensified marketisation of higher education in England Kuldeep Banwait Abstract The literature review revealed two opposing views of the ‘student as customer’; either it is considered to be a deliberate policy construct rooted in the marketisation of higher education, which encourages public universities to behave like private businesses. Or it is considered to be a natural extension of rising consumerism in society, rendering universities as ‘cathedrals of consumption’. Both perspectives recognise that there is an attempt at creating a market in English higher education. This study discusses a ‘paradigm shift’ signalling an intensification of marketisation that began in the early 1980s. The purpose is to identify how these policy changes are perceived, by interviewing a large sample of senior managers and policy analysts in English higher education. Four themes emerged from the interviews. First, universities were said to be becoming increasingly “business like” suggesting that senior managers of English universities were faced with an identity crisis in grappling with their purpose as businesses or educational institutions. Second, was the idea that they performed in a “market like” fashion, displaying an uncomfortable acceptance of the idea whilst being open to the discussion of a free market in the future. Third, was the characterisation of student relationships with the university as “customer like” revealing an uncertainty as to whether students are customers or not. Fourth, was “individualism” a concept accepting the fact that universities would have to see higher education as an individual investment by a student. The implication of these uncertain themes is that senior managers would need to get out of ‘debate mode’ to adopt a clear and radical stance instead of being locked in the indecisive “like” dilemmas. They must develop the ability to see through the ‘strategy illusion’ and either challenge or accept the policy- induced uncertainties of higher education in the 21st century. iii | P a g e Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................. i Glossary of terms .................................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. iii Chapter 1 – Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 The background to this study ................................................................................................. 2 1.2 The purpose of this study ....................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Aim and objectives ................................................................................................................ 10 1.4 The structure of the study .................................................................................................... 11 1.5 Summary and contribution to knowledge ............................................................................ 13 Chapter 2 – Literature Review .............................................................................................................. 17 2.1 Background to the literature review ........................................................................................... 17 2.2 Structure and approach to the literature review chapter .......................................................... 18 2.3 The journey of the marketisation of English Higher Education – Part 1 ..................................... 20 2.3.1 What is marketisation? ........................................................................................................ 20 2.3.2 The shaping of a mass higher education in the 1960s ......................................................... 21 2.3.3 Thatcher’s drive towards reducing public spending and its impact upon higher education in the 1980s ................................................................................................................................... 22 2.3.4 Reform of the higher sector by ending the binary divide in the 1990’s .............................. 24 2.3.5 The introduction of student fees in the millennium ............................................................ 25 2.3.6 The Browne review 2010, further increases in fees and increased student expectations .. 25 2.4 The case for and against the introduction of a more market-based approach in English Higher Education – Part 2 ............................................................................................................................. 28 2.4.1 Some reflections on policy making in English higher education – the economics is easy but the politics is complex. .................................................................................................................. 28 2.4.1. (1 ) The chaotic nature of policy making in higher education ............................................ 28 2.4.1. (2) The breakneck speed of policy making in higher education ......................................... 29 2.4.2 The justification for the funding reforms as unleashing the forces of consumerism .......... 30 2.4.2. (1) Reforms a necessity to sustainably fund English higher education .............................. 30 2.4.2. (2) Money following the student will make universities responsive to student choice ..... 31 2.4.2. (3) A rising tide would lift all the boats ............................................................................... 31 2.4.2. (4) An encouragement for universities to become bolder and more entrepreneurial ...... 32 2.4.3 The arguments against funding reforms, put market not students at the heart of the system ........................................................................................................................................... 33 2.4.3. (1) An assault on universities .............................................................................................. 33 2.4.3. (2) Higher education trapped in competition fetish ........................................................... 34 2.4.3. (3) An earning university as opposed to a learning university...........................................