Neo-liberalism and the state of higher education in the UK

This article reports findings from a research project on the impact of neo-liberalism on university life in the UK. Unusually, data collection includes interviews with senior management such as heads of departments and senior professors, as well as with lecturers and union representatives. Interviewees reported that the nature of institutional and individual pressures has changed and intensified over the last 30 years, resulting generally in negative experiences for staff and students; yet grounds exist for rejecting a purely deterministic thesis on the impact of neo-liberalism on higher education. Certain aspects of university work were described in positive terms and individual senior managers seemed able at times to mediate external pressures. Creative strategies of resistance were evident which provided some relief from an otherwise gloomy scenario.