UCU warns over business influence in university curriculum

Commenting on a leaked report from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), UCU said the UK risked losing its proud reputation of being at the forefront of innovation because of the creeping marketisation of its universities.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'University is about so much more than just getting students through their degree and out the other side. We should be celebrating universities that are prepared to take risks and push the boundaries in their pursuit of knowledge and research. We need to trust people who have spent their lives working in education, not allowing business to dictate the short-term direction universities should be taking.

'The creeping marketisation of higher education seems only concerned with a bottom line and treating students as commodities. Identikit institutions in all our towns and cities churning our graduates in a couple of years is not what the country needs to protect its proud position as world leader in teaching excellence or innovative research.'