UCU: Call to action: reclaim our universities as a common good

Motion

Motion text: Conference notes:
1. Destructive marketisation in UKHE has caused a multi-dimensional crisis
imperiling HEIs, particularly impacting the humanities and social sciences
2. Resolution requires rethinking models of HE funding and student distribution
3. The current UK government has been persistently hostile to universities and
critical thought, and won’t address this crisis constructively
4. Solidarity across differently situated HEIs is vital at this moment
Resolves:
a. To launch a public campaign emphasising HE as a common good,
showing that the value of research and education cannot be
reduced to market metrics
b. To propose alternative models for funding and student distribution
to ensure sustainability of HEIs
c. To give this strategy maximum chance of success by building
membership density and entering into partnership agreements with
other HE unions.