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Website URL : http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2296
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Fighting privatisation in tertiary education
We have one of the fastest growing private sectors in Europe and the level of private investment in tertiary education in the UK is already far above the EU and OECD averages. Do you work for a private company?
An increasing number of people who work for private companies like INTO, KAPLAN, BPP Colleges, Navitas and American Intercontinental University are joining UCU, reflecting many of our concerns about the inferior pay, terms and conditions and commercial pressures on quality in the private sector. We want to collect information on working life in these private sector employers. If you have concerns about the treatment of staff, terms and conditions or pressures on the quality of provision, you can contact the union and help us build a better picture of the private sector: email privatisation-whistleblowers@ucu.org.uk UCU is opposed to the privatisation of tertiary education. We think that the interests of our members, of the students and parents who are at the heart of education and of the wider society we serve, are best served by an education system that is funded and controlled by the public and that is democratically accountable to the citizens of the UK.
Privatisation is taking place through the use of PFIs in support services and facilities, through the government's encouragement of greater private industry involvement in funding and designing courses, but most notably through a new wave of public private partnerships between colleges and universities and private sector training and education providers.
As part of our national campaign we provide support for any branch facing such a joint venture: see here for the latest on the joint ventures talks we're aware of.
On this page: Elsewhere in this section:
NEWS FILE
Education Solidarity Network – putting global solidarity into practice
Following the decision by 15 unions worldwide to sign UCU's international agreement to defend quality and employment rights against marketisation in education, the signatories have launched a new initiative to put this solidarity into practice. The 'Education Solidarity Network' is a joint union blogsite which enables unions to share information about the marketisation of education and to campaign jointly to defend standards and provision. You can see the latest posts here: educationsolidaritynetwork.org
International students and pathway provision: the case against the private sector
UCU publishes new document arguing that in-house provision ensures that academic standards are maintained while the profit imperative of the private providers puts pressure on staff pay and conditions and standards:  International students and pathway provision: the case against the private sector, UCU, Oct 2009 (.pdf) [193kb]
U21 Global: Four UK universities sink millions into struggling joint venture
UCU's concerns about Universities investing in the online education joint venture U21 Global were confirmed recently as the Times Higher reported that Nottingham, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow universities between them sank £5.5 million into the project for a return of a mere £40,000. U21 Global was established as a joint venture between 16 members of the Univeristas 21 consortium and the private education company Thomson Learning. Since then, the troubled project has consistently under-recruited, four universities have backed out and Thomson Learning quit in 2007, to be replaced by a Mauritius-based company called Manipal.
Back in June 2009, we reported our concerns and UCU branches wrote to their managements asking whether they intended to continue investing in the joint venture. In spite of the joint venture's consistent poor performance, and at a time when the sector is pleading poverty to cut jobs, all appear to be intent on continuing. Read more here in the Times Higher. You can read more about U21 Global in Professor Jane Kelsey's paper given at the recent Challenging the Global Market in Education conference - more details of which are below.
INTO losses
UCU has advised universities and colleges against entering partnerships with private firms after new research showed that every single joint venture between the private company INTO University Partnerships and its partner university or college made a loss in 2007-08 – the most recent figures available. The five joint ventures made a combined loss of nearly £3.5m. The union further discovered that Andrew Colin, the sole shareholder of INTO University Partnerships had, up to 31 July 2008, lent the company £5.5m in the form of interest free loans: Privatisation may damage your wealth, UCU warns universities after more losses
See also this story covered in the Times Higher.
Manchester college members deliver clear message to INTO
Manchester college UCU members facing transfer to private education company INTO's employment have expressed clear support for the union's campaign to protect pay and conditions and win union recognition. Responding to a consultation, members at the college were unanimous in supporting a call for protection of pay and conditions for the full life of the enterprise, full protection of pensions, union recognition and no two-tier workforce.
Global privatisation of tertiary education – UNESCO report highlights threat to staff
A report by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has illuminated the extent of the private sector's takeover of higher education across the world. The report claims that 30% of global HE is now provided by private providers. It also says that private sector HE 'is run mostly on a business model, with power and authority concentrated in boards and chief executives. Faculty hold little authority or influence and students are seen as customers.' They also make the key point that private providers drive down costs, partly because they rely on casualised academics. You can read UNESCO's report here (.pdf)
US education giant's takeover of BPP increases private sector threat to universities
The private higher education company BPP Holdings has accepted a take-over offer from the giant US education company Apollo Global. BPP Holdings owns four private colleges in London and Manchester offering business and law degrees and successfully lobbied the Privy Council for degree-awarding powers in 2007. On 8 June, BPP announced that it had was accepting the offer at a price of £303.5m by Apollo Global. Apollo Global is a joint venture owned by the US for-profit education provider Apollo Group and the private equity company Carlyle Group. BPP chairman David Sugden was quoted in the Financial Times as saying that the company's degree-awarding powers were likely to have been an important attraction for Apollo. With Conservative shadow higher education minister David Willetts apparently a fan of allowing 'new entrants' into higher education, UCU is warning that big money is moving into the sector with a hungry eye on higher education. For more see Legal Week's article; and Apollo also caught the THE's attention.
New branch campaigning guide
UCU Congress in May saw the launch of UCU's new campaign resource for branches titled 'Fighting Privatisation: A branch activist's guide'. This is a cross-sectoral resource aimed at helping activists to combat any attempts to outsource educational services or to establish public-private partnerships with private sector education businesses. The guide is divided into three parts with sections on how to campaign against privatisation proposals, what to do if privatisation goes ahead and how to campaign proactively to prevent privatisation in your college or university. This guide has been produced in close collaboration with the Professor Dexter Whitfield from the European Services Strategy Unit (ESSU), an indispensable resource for trade unionists.
To download the guide click here: Fighting privatisation: a branch activist’s guide, May 09 (.pdf) [657kb]
To order hard copies email campaigns@ucu.org.uk
For the ESSU, click here: www.european-services-strategy.org.uk
UCU members step up campaign against marketisation of schools
UCU members at the Institute of Education and Goldsmiths College have come out against their managements' plans to sponsor local Trust schools. Members in the influential Institute of Education passed a motion condemning their institution's plans to become part of a trust partnership with schools in Waltham Forest in East London. A similar motion was passed by UCU members in the Education Department at Goldsmiths College in South London, protesting about the college's plans to head up a Trust Federation with local schools in Lewisham. The government is keen to foster the involvement of universities and colleges in partnerships with Trust Schools and Academy Schools as part of their plans to create a new wave of specialist schools competing to create 'excellence'. UCU members are concerned that these plans involve little consultation and will only create damaging competition between schools. These protests come at a time when the evidence suggests that these schools perform no better than their comprehensive 'competitors'.
For more on this, click here: Academies 'no better for GCSE results than comprehensives', London Evening Standard
For the Institute of Education story, click here: Union boycotts trust school schemes, Waltham Forest Guardian.
For more on the UCU's case against the marketisation of education: click on www.ucu.org.uk/academies
Historic agreements signed at Challenging the Global Market in Education Conference
UCU's Challenging the Global Market in Education conference became the stage for a series of landmark agreements signed with international education unions on 9 May 2009. The agreements committed the signatory unions to share knowledge and develop cross-border campaigning strategies in order to defend academic and employment standards across the globe. 11 unions from all over the world have agreed to sign and we hope to announce more soon. The conference also saw 100 participants from around the world begin to share ideas and experience about the marketisation of education around the world and how to build a worldwide campaign to defend public education. Participants particularly emphasised the need to make the documents practically meaningful to members and to use them to reject the marketisation of education and develop an alternative vision of education as a global public good.
Participants were also conscious of the underlying historic context, and the negative features of globalization, particularly in the exploitation often associated with migrations, including indentured and slave labour and other forms of coercion, which continue to this day.
 Themes and outcomes from the workshop discussions (.rtf) [70kb]
Keynote speech by Professor Jane Kelsey from the University of Auckland (.rtf) [61kb]
Keynote speech by Monique Fouilhoux, Deputy General Secretary, Education International (.rtf) [91kb]
Keynote speech by Owen Tudor, Head of European Union and International Relations, TUC
Read Sally Hunt's article in the Guardian website
Unions sign historic international deals to protect academic freedom and staff conditions
View the international agreement here (.pdf) [337kb]
Good news at SOAS, bad news at Plymouth
Good news from SOAS as managers at the School agreed to remove the option of outsourcing from an options paper laying out the future of foundation courses for international student. This was a result of a rapid and robust response from the union demanding that the outsourcing option be removed or the School would be included in the national campaign.
In contrast to SOAS's relatively transparent process, Plymouth University became the subject of union outrage when managers announced that they had signed a contract with the Australian private company Navitas to provide a new 'International College' at the campus, without the proposals having been subjected to proper scrutiny by unions.
See the 'joint venture watch' page for more
Canadian University says 'no' to Navitas
Canadian Lecturers union the CAUT celebrated its first win against a private company recently with news that McMaster University has confirmed that it will not now be proceeding with a partnership with Navitas. More details as soon as they become available.
Westminster says 'no' to INTO
After protracted negotiations, Westminster University has joined the growing number of universities saying no to INTO's business model.
Prison education privatisation
UCU is campaigning against the marketisation and privatisation of prison education with its constant re-tendering of contracts. UCU members employed by private sector provider A4e have told us in stark terms what they thought of their employer, and we are now lobbying the Learning and Skills Council to listen to these voices:
See the prison education staff page for more
Secret privatisation deal at City University
UCU has slammed City University's plans to privatise the recruitment, teaching and accommodation of international students, warning that the university would be 'gambling with its reputation' if it went ahead with a joint venture with the firm INTO:
Concerns over secret privatisation deal at City University
Manchester Metropolitan say 'no' to Navitas
November 08: Manchester Metropolitan University has issued a statement to say that 'MMU is not proceeding with Navitas at this time'. The UCU branch, which fought an energetic campaign against the discussions with the Australian education business, welcomed the news. Branch secretary Stewart Smyth said, 'UCU welcomes this news and we look forward to working with university stakeholders to develop excellence in our in-house provision':
Who are Navitas? A UCU campaigns briefing on Navitas, Jul 08 (.pdf) [2.1Mb]
Challenging the market in FE - new UCU briefing published
Challenging the market in further education: a briefing on the rise of the private sector in adult and vocational learning (.pdf) [717kb]
Goldsmiths voters reject privatisation plans
Staff and students at Goldsmiths College have issued a resounding rejection of proposals to privatise the recruitment and teaching of international students:
'INTO' privatisation rejected by 94% of voters at Goldsmiths College
Privatisation campaigning In HE, a series of private companies including INTO, KAPLAN, Navitas (formerly IBT) and Study Group International are attempting to set up joint ventures and public private partnerships with universities to recruit and in many cases teach international students, offering them 'guaranteed progression' onto degree courses.
UCU is campaigning against these ventures. We oppose the creation of a 'two-tier workforce in higher education and we believe that in-house alternatives carry far less risk to the reputation, academic standards and financial wellbeing of universities.
One company, INTO, is on record as wanting to set up joint ventures with 11 universities. It has established ventures at Exeter, UEA and Newcastle. UCU defeated one project at Oxford Brookes and branches at Essex, Queen's University Belfast, Glasgow Caledonian and Westminster are currently campaigning against similar proposals.
Stop privatisation: sign our open letter to every vice-chancellor asking them to put a halt to this process which not only affects the quality of educational provision but also threatens the pay, conditions and pensions of your colleagues.
The union wrote to Universities UK and to HEFCE asking them to intervene to put a halt to the encroachment of the private sector into our universities. We will also be raising the matter further with the employers' organisation UCEA. Read UCU's letter here. (.pdf) [49kb]
Back to contents Campaigning advice Effective campaigning against privatisation depends on early warning: Deals with private companies are typically announced following long periods of secret discussion and managers attempt to muzzle public discussion of proposals at governing bodies by claiming 'commercial sensitivity'
UCU says the interests of staff and students and the reputations and financial viability of universities and colleges are too important not to be publicly debated. We ask all branches to be proactively vigilant and use every means at their disposal and every channel of communication to find out what is happening in their institution.
If you want advice or have information, you can contact the campaigns team.
Privatisation campaigns pack: During campaigning against the privatisation of English language teaching in universities, UCU's Campaigns Team produced a campaign pack to assist branches. We are updating and revising this now to create a new cross-sectoral resource to assist you in campaigning against all facets of privatisation, but you can download the existing pack here.
Testimony: Do you work for a private provider? If so, tell us about it. We are interested in gathering information from members about their experience of working for private companies. This can often be extremely effective in campaigning work as it helps us to make the issues real for members, managers, politicians and the public. Email us at campaigns@ucu.org.uk
Back to contents UCU campaign briefings & documents Back to contents What vice-chancellors are thinking? 'Are we bad for wanting to make a profit? ... Call it surplus if you're squeamish'
UCU has obtained copies of materials used in presentations for the Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA) which provide some insight into the views being promoted among VCs: Back to contents Other news UCU delighted at Essex announcement on INTO
Essex University announced that it would not be proceeding with a joint venture with INTO or any other private provider: UCU welcomes Essex University's decision to reject private firm
Manchester Metropolitan UCU step up fight against talks with Navitas
Members at Manchester Metropolitan University have given unanimous endorsement to the campaign against privatisation at the university after it became clear that talks were under way with Australian private education business Navitas: read more here
'Challenging the market in education'
UCU also organised a conference titled 'Challenging the market in education' on 17 May, attended by over 120 delegates. This conference saw the launch of UCU's report on the growth of the private sector as well as papers from academic experts and workshops led by activists.
The proceedings of this conference will be used to produce a new campaigns resource for branch activists. Watch this space!
INTO rattled
May 2008: Readers of the Times Higher Education will have seen an article by the chairman and owner of privatising company INTO, Andrew Colin, who is at pains to explain how he is just trying to help universities to get a bigger share of the market in international students and accuses UCU of 'ideological' opposition to privatisation. INTO aim to secure deals with at least 11 universities. He also admits that pay is worse in his joint ventures and that INTO is currently making a substantial loss - just two of the reasons why UCU is opposed to such ventures and is campaigning to keep INTO out of UK universities.
Struggling A4E cuts contracts in 8 prisons
Coming in the wake of Carter and Carter's collapse, A4E, a private company running offenders' learning, has terminated its contracts in 8 prisons in Kent a year early because it stands to make losses of £892,000. Prison education has been retendered 4 times since 1993 and A4E were the latest company to win contracts in 2006. UCU campaigned successfully to protect members' pensions when A4E tried to use an inferior scheme. Now the company, which describes itself as a 'market leader in global public service reform', has announced that due to its losses it will be terminating its contract a year early: Private company pulls the plug on prison education in face of financial loss
Carter and Carter go bust
One of the biggest private training providers in FE, Carter and Carter, recently went into administration. Carter and Carter had previously bought up a number of other private providers and at the point it went bust, had 25,000 learners on its courses. It was also a major contractor through the government's Train2Gain initiative. In October 2006, it announced a joint venture with Castle College Nottingham. A further proposed joint venture with West Nottinghamshire College was defeated after a UCU branch campaign. Most of Carter and Carter has now been bought by Newcastle College, effectively transferring back to the public sector: 'End marketisation of further education' call as private training provider collapses
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