UCU: Partial privatisation of undergraduate provision

Motion

Motion text: Conference notes:
the continuing attempts by private providers like INTO University Partnerships, Kaplan and Navitas to secure contracts in HE institutions to offer academic and support services
the successful campaigns at Essex University, Goldsmiths, University of London and Manchester Metropolitan University resulting in the scrapping of plans for joint venture partnerships.
Conference believes that:
university managements are likely to consider privatisation strategies to cope with financial insecurity
higher education is not a commodity to be delivered by 'business-facing' universities
universities have a responsibility to explore and implement in-house options for the delivery of services.
Conference calls on the NEC:
to continue its campaign against the marketisation of HE
to organise a high-profile public campaign amongst staff and students against further privatisation of the university sector and for increased public funding as a necessary response to the recession
to inform the membership of the threat of privatisation to intellectual property rights of academics, the autonomy and development of public sector postgraduate and undergraduate degrees, the identity of HE institutions, the rigorousness of quality assurance on degrees and institutions
to highlight the dangers of the private business model in relation economic and political conditions.