Are UK university leaders fit for a changing HE landscape?

This moment in the UK Higher Education sector feels like those first moments that the lookouts in the crows nest saw the iceberg on the Titanic (or possibly the steamroller scene in Austin Powers, depending on your age).

The alarm has been raised, now we need the captain to turn the ship hard to starboard to avoid the impending collision with said iceberg. 

…only the captain has only ever sailed in a straight line, at the same speed, just like the captain before them, they don’t know how to change course and they have absolutely no instructions, support or guidance. 

Oh and the engines have failed because the ship has run out of fuel and the rudder is broken because the ship hasn’t been serviced or upgraded in 15 years. 

Now I understand why Times Higher Education journalists use so many sinking ship images in their articles. Let’s hope that The Labour Party are able to turn this ship around quickly after the forthcoming election. 

Looking at the manifestos, the Labour party are aware that the university funding crisis needs to be addressed, however the costings for this aren't factored into the current fiscal strategy and there seems to be no current strategy on what they actually plan to do (another article on the way).

Before they intervene, in my opinion, the onus is on UK universities to get their houses in order. 

Run lean, run commercially, run sustainably. Very few can and will achieve this.

It's easier said than done with tuition fees capped, no government support, a cost of living crisis and international students propping up the entire system.

How can you balance running lean, motivating staff with delivering high levels of student satisfaction and the best possible graduate outcomes?

Answers on a postcard.  

Our international reputation is paper thin right now and drastic measures that could lead to strikes, would further damage this reputation which could in turn lead to less students applying to our universities in the future. We are already seeing over 58% of UK universities drop down the QS World University Rankings (more on that in a recent post).

However, from my own research: 

Of the 24 Russell Group of Universities , only one university has a leader (Chairman) who is not an academic. They haven't been a lecturer, head of faculty or department. They haven't only worked in universities. In effect they are a business leader rather than a teacher, and that is...

Sir Philip Dilley of...

You guessed it...

Imperial College London

Is this a coincidence?

The number one university in the UK and second in the world, has broken the mould and has a leader who is an engineer and has worked all over the world in various leadership capacities in private companies.

Incidentally I just looked at 10 non Russell Group Universities including Nottingham Trent, Sheffield, Hallam, Coventry, Northumbria, UWE and more and every single one has a VC with purely academic or medical background. I could dig further into this data but I just don't have the time.

However, this isn't a call for academics to be replaced in the HE system with successful leaders from the private sector. I'm mindful that academics and traditional VCs have a valuable role to play and have helped the UK to create a world-leading HE sector. It's clear though, that our universities need to evolve and "if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got."

As Michael Edmonds commented on an earlier Linkedin post "The assumption that a person can only run a university if they have private or commercial experience overlooks that universities are more than a business and that there are many capable VCs (just as there are incapable industry CEOs). Students are more than just customers and universities are more than just businesses, they are a key part of a country’s success in terms of education, workforce training, research, innovation, social conscience and contributions to government policy. Also if you look at the composition of University Councils you will find there is business and corporate expertise which advises VCs."

I totally agree. There are so many capable VC's who might not have private sector experience but they do have a deep understanding of the workings of a university. But in a future where the world of work is changing with the advent of AI, globalisation and changing economies, is the traditional leadership model able to ensure our universities are innovative, dynamic and able to adapt to that change?

On the latest episode of Housed Podcast, my co-hosts Sarah Canning , Deenie Lee and I discuss this at length in a follow up from discussing University league tables.

Let’s be clear, UK Universities are currently in a no-win situation. They are woefully underfunded to the tune of a £4k loss per year per domestic student so International students are propping up our higher education system by paying higher fees than domestic students. 

Students are also now increasingly questioning the value of their degrees and the debt they are laden with post graduation. Graduate outcomes are questionable for some courses and don’t even get me started on the lack of credible data, transparency and coordinated government strategy. 

Universities are struggling to stay afloat in a political environment that breeds short termism when what they need is government policy and management teams that enable long term sustainable growth. They are at the mercy of the next Home Office minister when Higher education is the ultimate long term investment in an economy both in terms of the local impact and longer term skills and job creation for the country. 

With the advent of AI, universities and the world of work are about to enter an unprecedented era and there are questions as to whether universities have the resource and capabilities to deal with the use of AI in studies and exams. But maybe the bigger challenge to the university sector is how to set up students to deal with the world of work now that AI is mainstream.

Times they are a changing.  

Do we have a legacy of high performing and world-leading institutions?

Absolutely.

Are they fit for purpose in a changing world?

I'm not convinced.

Without government intervention to either support universities or raise tuition fees in line with inflation, some universities will fail. By fail, I expect that we could see some consolidation rather than full bankruptcy. Imagine Sheffield Hallam merging with Sheffield Uni for example. There are already some joint marketing practices or shared back office functions in some locations.

What do we need from our universities? Dynamism, innovation, economic sustainability and long term viability. We can't just look at universities in a purely commercial sense though. The benefits to the UK of our higher education system are well known but we have to make sure that it is fit for purpose in a changing world with more pressures than the HE system has ever known politically, economically and socially.

Can the existing management teams at UK universities deliver that?

It remains to be seen. Times are changing fast and universities need to change with them.

VC's have a valuable role to play in the future of the high education system as they have done in the past, but maybe it's time for a wider breadth of experience with more dynamism, innovation, commerciality and agility.

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