A little while ago I mused that Irish universities seeking the freedom to set their own fees might decide to declare independence from government not just on fees but on all matters. But I thought then that it would never happen. However, the old adage “never say never” occurred to me this morning, reading the following story in THE [with added links]:
Privatise top 5 and let us form UK Ivy League says Imperial rector
The rector of Imperial College London wants the institution to go private and join four other Russell Group universities in an independent US-style Ivy League. Professor Sir Roy Anderson told the Evening Standard that privatisation would allow Imperial, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the London School of Economics and University College London to fulfil their economic promise.
“If you take the top five universities, they have enormous potential to earn income for Britain. How best to do that? My own view would be to privatise them,” he told the paper. “The trouble is all British universities are too dependent on Government. You don’t want to be subject to the mores of government funding or changing educational structures.”
Privatisation would allow Imperial and the other four “elite” institutions to set their own unlimited tuition fees and take more overseas students, he said. …
So, what would be shorthand for the this elite top 5? “The Premiership” seems currently in vogue. Or what about “The Famous Five”? Should (some of?) the Irish universities go the same way? And if so, what should be the shorthand for them? “The Shamrock League”? Or perhaps auction the naming rights? More seriously, even though the proposal is cast in current jargon, there may be something to it. It is certainly an important suggestion; and Sir Roy is to be commended for beginning the debate, even if the proposal is at present an unpopular one.
Is this story in the London Independent a Welsh harbinger?
Maybe it could be named after a hotel in which the universities’ leaders meet? Perhaps the Comfort (Inn) Group? The Montrose Group? The Stillorgan Park Group? Maybe even the Paris Hilton Group? The Krystle Group? The Copper Face Jacks Group? There are many possibilities but it would depend on the preferences of the leadership, about which I know nothing.
It is worth drawing a distinction between the premiership and the Ivy League in terms of structure. The premiership is not a fixed group of clubs – it has regular relegation of the weakest teams and promotion of teams from lower divisions. This sounds like fair play in theory, but it causes shattered dreams, enormous problems and occasional bankruptcies in practice. The Ivy League is a very different thing – just because you’re good, even damned good, doesn’t mean you get to be ivy league.
I think the universities should be more focused on the quality and value of the products they are selling more than setting their own fees. If they believe that they can greatly increase both the quality and values of their courses by going independant and setting their own fees then this could be a good thing