Lowering British higher education (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate) |
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| Authors: | Hugh Gusterson |
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| Affiliation: | Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at George Mason University. He is an authority on the culture of nuclear weapons scientists and anti‐nuclear activists, with a regular editorial column at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. His email is hgusters@gmu.edu. |
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| Abstract: | Hugh Gusterson argues, based on his experience in the U.S. university system, that the marketization of higher education can be expected to have perverse consequences. Universities will focus on branding and capturing research funding rather than teaching; students will increasingly see a degree as something they buy and will put pressure on faculty to lower grading standards; many students will also be forced by tuition expenses to work while they are in college, and will therefore have less time to study; and some will turn their backs on their true vocations in favor of courses of study that will enable them to repay their tuition debt. As the British university system increasingly resembles its American counterpart in cost and style, British faculty and students will feel increasingly tempted to study or teach in the U.S. system. |
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