Mace, J. D.; (1998) Responses to changes in university funding: a case study of two universities. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the effects on university teaching and research of recent changes to the method of funding universities. The effects of funding change are investigated through case studies of two universities, one an elite institution rated highly in all of the research assessment exercises and the other a non-elite institution rated low in the research assessment exercises. Within the universities a sample of staff was selected to fill in a questionnaire about their perceptions of change to teaching and research. In addition a small number of senior staff in each of the universities was interviewed. The analysis of the two sets of questionnaires revealed a remarkable degree of similarity between the two universities. For research, it appears that the time spent on research had fallen for most staff, that there had been a significant shift away from basic and toward more applied research and that the quality of research was perceived by most staff to have risen or remained the same. For teaching, there had been a large increase in all levels of teaching and a reduction in the level of support for students. There had also been a massive increase in the amount of administration required of staff. The interviews with senior staff supported these findings, but revealed subtler changes taking place too. For example, the nonelite university was having to adopt different student recruitment policies, different staffing policies and different teaching arrangements to those found in the elite institution. It was also claimed that the funding exercise was changing the nature of the research process in the Humanities. The conclusion of the thesis is that funding changes are affecting the quality and type of research and teaching provided in universities, but universities with different backgrounds may be affected differently.

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