To University College London for a hustings to be addressed by all three candidates standing the job of the first General Secretary of the new University and College Union, formed last year by the merger of the AUT, which represented most academic staff in the pre-1992 universities, and NATFHE, which represents most academic staff in the former polytechnics and further education colleges.
Before I report on the main speakers, I should tell you about a passionate questioner from the floor, who got his chance to speak towards the end of the question and answer session. He urged the union activists filling the lecture theatre to forget about the ‘detail of union matters’ and to concentrate on the main issue, which how to stop the destruction of the British university system. The union should concentrate on forging alliances to fight this battle with the many distinguished and influential figures, who were equally critical of the current policies which are threatening academic standards, but were not interested in union matters. He instanced one, no less a figure than the President of the Royal Academy, who apparently is ready to march shoulder to shoulder with us, if not to the barricades, at least down Whitehall to lobby the Government. The questioner suggested us that university standards are being threatened by the policies of the present Government and the majority of the vice-chancellors, who are going along with the new managerialism. He ended with a dramatic call for immediate action to stop the rot: ‘It is our last chance’.
I have much sympathy with the sentiments expressed by the questioner. I think he is absolutely right that university standards have already been damaged and are being damaged even more as each year goes by. I think that it is also true that many of the general public are not aware of this deterioration of standards. And this is partly because so few vice chancellors are prepared to speak out against the fashions of the times.
Roger Kline, one of the three leadership candidates, had already demonstrated in his speech how the new ethos, with its obsession with monitoring performance and behaviour was threatening both academic standards, academic freedom and the autonomy of university teachers. He instanced one example, which might have been taken from the theatre of the absurd, except that is happening in real life at Leeds Metropolitan University. The Vice-Chancellor there has instructed his teachers that they must carry mobile phones with them at all times. He has also instructed his administrative staff to spy on the academic test and report how they rated in terms of their ‘customer relationships’ with the students.
One of the effects of treating the students as customers has been apparent for many years in my own discipline, journalism. We have now reached the situation, where the number of new journalism jobs is far exceeded by the output of students each year from journalism courses. In journalism this does not matter too much. Because, if students learn their discipline properly, the skills they acquire – the ability to research a subject quickly and thoroughly and transmit the results in plain language, expressed succinctly, help them to progress in many jobs, public relations, politics and many managerial jobs, where such skills are highly valued.
But Kline gave another example of this trend which is really worrying. Apparently television programmes like Silent Witness have led to a flood of customers for forensic science courses. So the new university managers keep starting new courses to satisfy customer demand. Soon we will have far more forensic scientists than the number of dead bodies that need examining.
My visit to UCL. I had hoped to see all three candidates in action, being challenged by the knowledgeable activists, which is near the top in terms of the number of UCU members on its books. In the event Peter Jones had to go into hospital for on undisclosed health problem which is ‘manageable’. Sally Hunt, former General Secretary of the AUT, who has being acting as joint general secretary of UCU, with Paul Mackney of NATFHE, who had to withdraw from the leadership battle before it started on his doctor’s advice.
As Kline himself said there is little difference in the policies advocated by the three candidates. Members will have to decide which of the three is the most likely to be able to fulfil the promises they have made to members. I hope to put some flesh on the human beings behind the manifestos, but that will have to wait for the moment.
Because my scooter is temporarily inactive and it took me over two hours to get to UCL and back, as against twenty minutes by scooter. And I do not have time to write more now because I have to leave for a dinner date. And I am off to Dorset tomorrow. But I will return to this subject long before the ballot closes.