Speaking of Universities

by Stefan Collini

Until recently, it was not easy for an existing educational institution to become a university and even more difficult for a commercial enterprise to set one up from scratch. There were strict controls on the use of the title; degree-awarding powers were only granted with the approval of the Privy Council; fledgling institutions often had to endure a longish period during which their courses were validated by an established university; and so on. One might have thought that these safeguards had contributed to the generally high reputation of British universities across the board for the greater part of the twentieth century, but now we are told ‘innovation and diversity in higher education provision are crucial to maintain our international reputation’. Moreover, it is axiomatic that increased competition means increased innovation (and provides better value for money). So the Green Paper proposes to do away with many of the existing checks.