The Great University Gamble Money, Markets and the Future of Higher Education [Paperback]

In 2010 the UK government imposed huge cuts and market-driven reforms on higher education. Proposals to raise undergraduate tuition fees provoked the angriest protests for decades. This academic year has seen the first cohort of students begin study under the new arrangements. A proposed Higher Education Bill has been shelved, but changes are being cemented and extended through other means.

Displaying a stunning grasp of the financial and policy details, Andrew McGettigan surveys the emerging brave new world of higher education. He looks at the big questions: What will be the role of universities within society? How will they be funded? What kind of experiences will they offer students? Where does the public interest lie?

Written in a clear and accessible style,The Great University Gambleoutlines the architecture of the new policy regime and tracks the developments on the ground. It is an urgent warning that our universities and colleges are now open to commercial pressures, which threaten to transform education from a public good into a private, individual financial investment.

Andrew McGettiganlives in London and writes on philosophy, the arts and education. He is the author of the Intergenerational Foundation report, False Accounting? Why the Government's Higher Education Reforms don't Add Up (2012).

Preface & Acknowledgement
Abbreviations
List of Figures and Tables
Introduction: Privatisation the plan and the gamble
Part I Funding: Fees and Loans
1 The Mass Higher Education System and its Funding
2 Tuition Fees
3 Student Loans – the basics
Part II Marketisation
4 Why a Market
5 Market Mechanisms
6 Regulating the New Market
7 ‘New providers’, for-profits & private equity
Part III Privatisation
8 University Finances and Overseas Income
9 Corporate Form, Joint Ventures & Outsourcing
10 University Bonds & other credit products