The Historical Context

Historians, (Cobban, 1975; Ruegg and de Ridder-Symoens, 1996) describe universities, traditionally the deliverers of Higher Education (HE) in the UK, as having evolved over centuries into the core establishments throughout the world today:

“No other European institution has spread over the entire world in the way in which the traditional form of the European university has” (Ruegg, 2003:4).

From the medieval origins embodied within a small number of universities, universities have developed in terms of size, student profiles, infrastructure design, and educational format delivery. Their historical roots, however, remain crucial to their culture.

At their creation, in Europe, the early institutions grew around a cluster of scholars, all prepared to travel for “the pursuit of Knowledge” and following one outstanding mentor or leader. The clusters became focal points for controversial debates on relevant social problems, places where scholars did not shirk from addressing religious and political disputes (Brock & Curthoys, 1998; Oxford University, 2006)13. Their intellectual interests spanned a range of foci from grammar and rhetoric to logic and metaphysics but their focus was in terms of gaining a broad education, with only a small proportion pursuing knowledge in a specialist field (Shinn, 1986:3).

Oxford University was formed in 1167 by a breakaway group of scholars from the University of Paris (on which all traditional universities in the UK are based). In contrast with Paris, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge (formed by a subsequent breakaway group from Oxford) gave up the nomadic and migratory aspects of their previous institution and became adopted by their local environments. With the registering of the community of masters as a universitas or corporation, in Oxford and Cambridge in 1231 and 1284 respectively, a sense of permanency and official recognition attached itself to these scholarly camps. However there existed a certain naiveté of the accountability that was developing:

“the local community would accept its jurisdiction as extending over all the institutions within its boundary, while the teachers and scholars believed they could be governed by an authority structure distinct from that of the surrounding community.” (Shinn, 1986:4)

This is an early example of tensions between institutional and societal expectations of what a university could deliver. Following on from Oxford and Cambridge in England, four other universities developed in Scotland (St. Andrews, 1411; Glasgow, 1451; Aberdeen, 1494, and Edinburgh, 1583). Together With Dublin, Trinity College (1592) these seven universities form what is termed collectively as

13

An example of this would be Aberlard (1079 – 1142) who, it is said, effectively took the

University of Paris with him wherever he went (Lunden, 1932: 93). Lunden describes this format as something resembling a “teaching guild”.

“The Ancients” concentrating on the liberal arts and pure sciences and closely linked with the Church. The historic development of equality as a central concept to universities is worth exploring here (further examined later in 3.4) Early on, traditional universities developed in a collegiate style which saw an equalling of opportunity able to attract students from middle and lower classes who wished to live and study together in small communities (Morrow, 2003). They came from all ranks of feudal society, some students poor enough to qualify for “alms” (Minogue, 1973:4) united in their (or their parents’) vision of attaining a broad education and, travelling to universities from some distance, forming what became, in essence, an international, equal society. One of the first statistical records of attendance available is again that of Oxford University from 1380 – 1500 where it is noted that 63.2% of the total 937 students came from rural areas, most the sons of “smallholders”. In contrast, only 6 students were of noble birth and 3 from urban aristocracy (Lytle, 1975: 83). In this respect it could be said that the original medieval universities were formed around a principle of wider access, focused firmly on the vision of education for those willing and capable, or at least, as Minogue notes, developed attitudes, standards and conventions which were resistant to parochialism (Minogue, 1973:19)

This age was a fascinating and complex time, with Royal Court hand-in-hand with Church influences. It was an age, war-driven, with information revolutions of their day. It is important not to over-simplify or claim too much from the early university. However it did play a role in developing the elite education market.

Employability was an early feature of these institutions; very few became career- scholars but rather saw attendance at the institution as an accreditation of being “educated”, in turn viewed as an asset in their attempt to make their way in the world thereafter. This process of accepting what was, in effect, a reference from an institution depended upon society, employers etc. respecting the authority and scholarly superiority of the university community. The Church held the core, most students being trained to work within the clergy profession, although some used

their knowledge of theology to progress a career in the civil service. The core strength of these first Higher Education Institutions was augmented and reinforced by the networking they gleaned from their business of educating what were to become the top strata of society, the clergymen and judges who would go on to hold the power in the country and who would remember their past masters (Prest, 1993). By the early 17th Century, the sector entered a period where expansion and development of the university concept effectively ceased for almost three hundred years.

During this phase, Scotland, hosting twice as many Ancients as England, retained a strong university core, but the development had extreme peculiarities, given the geographical context. Historically Scotland has placed education as a top priority in its political agenda. As far back as 1496, an Education Act passed by an independent Scottish Parliament under King James IV made schooling compulsory for the sons of nobles and freeholders (Holmes, 2000). By the 17th Century every parish in Scotland had a school and by the early 19th Century boys and girls were being schooled (Withrington, 2000). In terms of funding, once again, Scotland led the way with the four Ancients receiving annual grants from the State as early as 1600. In 1832 these were transferred to a parliamentary vote and, from that point on, the amount of funds so allocated was reviewed from time to time, allowing a mechanism for manipulation and exacting of conditions from the universities to be created (Shinn, 1986:13). It can therefore be read that two principles are emphasised with these policies: firstly, Scotland traditionally placed a great deal of importance on the power of education, and, secondly, some intervention by the State controlling matters of education was already accepted.

Operating within their own definitions, their own boundaries, by the early 20th Century Ancients had become respected centres of excellence, sharing similar ceremonial features (Becher, 1987; Brock and Curthoys, 1998; Harleyet al, 2004). Their creation of a social network of intellectuals earned the reputation of socially

elite organisations (Scott, 1995:5). However, it bears repetition that the admission of students to HE in the first place was still, in principle, equal opportunity based.

With the dawning of the Industrial Revolution, society required alternative resourcing and the knowledge transfer could not be accomplished with the Ancients and a classical education alone. By the late 19th Century, “Red Brick”14 universities were created to meet this need, while, in Scotland, Polytechnic Colleges developed to respond. The Ancients retained their distinct position based on their historical stance right up to contemporary times where, even today, not only do they display these influences, it is claimed that they also carry their ancient customs and traditions as a central part of their belief system (Lockwood & Davies, 1985).

By the mid 20th Century, the pressure to expand increased further and this marked the period of greatest change in the history of British universities. Demand for knowledge, heightened throughout society by employers, expected a certificated workforce. Meanwhile the development of research within industry required a strong base in universities. Society needed not only professional engineers, teachers, doctors and lawyers already supplied by Ancients and Red Brick Universities, it also demanded educationally qualified and certified nurses, agricultural experts, pharmacists, managers, brewers, physiotherapists, and it needed critical research in these fields.

The Robbins Report (1963) was to trigger an immense change in HE in the UK, recommending access to universities by all sectors of the community, increasing numbers of students and institutions and the creation of new universities, polytechnic colleges and the Open University. The second stage of university expansion in Scotland arrived with “Plate Glass”15 universities by 1960. This new phase could have been an opportunity for Ancients to acquire what Trow (1991:18) calls a “buffer”. If the Plate Glass institutions had been set up as a separate section 14_{The title “Red Brick” is rooted in the exterior façade of the Victoria Building tower in}

Liverpool, built from individual red pressed bricks patterned in rich terracotta panels.

15

“Plate Glass” or “Glass Plate” is used in reference to the architecture, usually consisting of concrete, steel and glass.

of the HE sector they could have served the commercial purpose of universities well, designed as part of the remedy for the government’s necessity to seek control and influence and the Ancients could have preserved autonomy. However the opportunity for such a clarification of purpose was missed. The government held firm to the idea of one standard, a “Gold Standard”; all universities should enjoy the same equality of esteem and academic standards in spite of pursuing different missions, with limited success (Tight, 2006). The standard, an outcome of the format of the expansion, has been a source of great debate since.

In 1987 a Governmental White Paper was published: “Higher Education – Meeting the Challenge” (referring to wider participation in HE). The crucial recommendation in this was the encouragement of Polytechnic Colleges’ release from local authority control. Some of them took the opportunity to develop towards future attainment of university-chartered status. The Further and Higher Education Act of 1992 sealed the direction.

Politically, in Scotland, the picture complicated further. On 11th September 1997 a referendum saw more than 70% vote in favour of establishing a Scottish Parliament, enacted with the Scotland Act (1998), the first since 1707 (Himsworth & Munro, 2000). This development facilitated devolved powers, in particular Education, and for universities this created a complex environment at the turn of the new century. The introduction of funding control in a local base at Edinburgh to which all were accountable, while attracting students from a world wide market, competing on a global basis and adhering to British law, added an unpredictable element to the impact on Scottish universities.

It is easy to overlook or underestimate the multitude of stakeholders who influence the underlying philosophies of a Scottish Ancient. Central funding dependency has recently turned to the private stakeholders. Each £100 of public funding allocated to universities in 1981 was reduced to £60 in real terms by 2001 (Universities- Scotland, 2002a). As a result, compensation for the funding gap has been sought

from industry, research councils, alumni, private benefactors, (Universities- Scotland, 2002a), not to mention students, parents, and staff. All who contribute can legitimately claim to own a stake in the institution. Accountability of an Ancient to those stakeholders is a price that is due.

The new millennium has hailed an uncertain and complex future for a large HE industry. Four small universities from the Middle Ages to 1960 had, by 2000, become 14 universities with approximately 180,000 Higher Education students in Scotland (Universities-Scotland, 2005). However, the historical background offers some insight into why the Ancients are still underpinned by four main philosophies; providing the best of educational attainment (standards), offered to all those willing, no matter what their social or financial background (equality of opportunity), focusing on choice of subject with no limit (academic freedom), and encouraging an ethic of lifelong learning.

Taking these individually, within the UK, at the philosophical core of university education is the concept of a target for students - a degree which, while subject to its various classifications, is of a level standard. A degree from Cambridge is, theoretically, rated on the same level as one from St. Andrews, Manchester, Paisley, etc. This core standard deserves some examination.