The UK University sector is keen to reset its relationship with the government, but it remains unclear how this shift in leadership will affect the sector. What should universities expect from the new Labour government, and what can they ask for?
We recently explored these questions at ‘Universities Under Labour,’ an in-conversation style event aimed at helping our higher education partners understand what to expect under the newly elected Labour Government.
Reflections from titans of the last Labour government
Our event in Westminster was attended by leaders from across the higher education sector, as well as parliamentarians and Duolingo Access Program partners.
The highlight of the evening was a panel discussion of the future of universities under the newly-elected Labour government, between Lord David Blunkett and Lord Peter Mandelson, moderated by Baroness Camilla Cavendish.
Both speakers had responsibility for universities in Cabinet at either end of the last Labour government—Lord Mandelson as Business Secretary under Gordon Brown, and Lord Blunkett as Secretary of State for Education under Tony Blair. Our interviewer, Baroness Camilla Cavendish, is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, a Research Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and Contributing Editor at the Financial Times.
UK institutions are beginning a new chapter
This new election has turned a page for UK universities. After facing what he called “destructive behavior” under the previous government, Lord Mandelson said he believes the new government represents a new chapter in the relationship between government and universities. According to Lord Blunkett, this will mean “being able to focus and work out where things are going very badly wrong and having a proper conversation about it”.
To ease financial pressure on universities that are “teetering,” Mandelson said there may be a case for an immediate increase in fees for the sector, but also that the new administration will “want to look at how the loan system operates as a whole and whether it can be made more equitable and sustainable.”
They discussed how instability in other key markets for international students means there is a real opportunity for the UK. Lord Mandelson said that changes in policy affecting international students looking to enroll at universities in Australia and Canada, and a possible change of presidency in the US, might mean a renewed interest in studying in the UK.
In order to take advantage of this situation, Lord Blunkett recommended that universities do more to highlight the economic, cultural, and social benefits that they bring to local communities in the UK, including their positive effect on retail and recreation industries, which, as he put it, “would be bust without students”.
He also said UK universities must become more adaptive to rapidly shifting circumstances. “The speed with which universities respond is incredibly variable,” he said. “Some are quick-footed, mobile, and some go through processes that were invented in the ark. To take three years to change the curriculum of a department is ridiculous.”
Learning from the past
At Duolingo, our mission is to break down barriers to opportunity by helping more people around the world learn languages and demonstrate their proficiency. Like university applicants, our learners and test takers often engage with government authorities to achieve their ambitions of studying internationally. As the DET’s UK Country Director Michael Lynas put it, understanding the new UK Government's stance on universities and international students is crucial.
“Lord Mandelson and Lord Blunkett played pivotal roles in shaping the previous Labour government's agenda, which expanded the higher education sector and made universities more international.” he said. “They remain actively involved in politics, and this event provided a fantastic opportunity to gain insights into the mindset of policymakers looking at the universities brief today.”