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Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?

Alpa Dhanani Orcid Logo, Richard Baylis

Studies in Higher Education, Volume: 49, Issue: 3, Pages: 505 - 517

Swansea University Author: Richard Baylis

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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/03075079.2023.2240840

Abstract

Changes in government policy and funding structures, alongside a rapidly evolving (international) market for education have made education provision a key revenue driver for UK higher education institutions. In this setting, the Russell Group of Universities (RGU), a self-selected association of eli...

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Published in: Studies in Higher Education
ISSN: 0307-5079 1470-174X
Published: Informa UK Limited 2024
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64066
first_indexed 2023-08-10T07:12:12Z
last_indexed 2025-06-13T11:56:53Z
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spelling 2025-06-12T16:02:37.0827667 v2 64066 2023-08-10 Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning? 94b4f1c7033b10801cd7696329c5d15d Richard Baylis Richard Baylis true false 2023-08-10 Changes in government policy and funding structures, alongside a rapidly evolving (international) market for education have made education provision a key revenue driver for UK higher education institutions. In this setting, the Russell Group of Universities (RGU), a self-selected association of elite, research-intensive universities and Business Schools (BSs) appear to be at the forefront of commercialising their educational activities at an institutional and a discipline level to enhance revenues. Using interview evidence from established academics, and drawing on the framework of academic capitalism and notions of morality in higher education, respectively, this study explores the play-out of the commercialisation of educational activities at a selection of RGU BSs and its implications for education provision. Results suggest major shifts in university cultures and systems – aligning them to capitalise on the market for (international) education. Activities include the creation of a suite of demand- and efficiency-led programmes in response to market intelligence, establishment of financial targets to nurture growth, efforts to seek out new markets and influencing admissions practices. The ensuing changes have disrupted extensively the educational spaces at the micro level in which meaningful learning for business students, as nurtured by values of academic care and responsibility, can take place. Operating at a distance from their students and in restrictive ways in response to large student numbers, faculty are limited in the extent to which they can enrich these students’ experiences and enable them to reach their full potential. Journal Article Studies in Higher Education 49 3 505 517 Informa UK Limited 0307-5079 1470-174X Higher education, Business Schools, corporatisation, academic capitalism, morality in education, care ethics 3 3 2024 2024-03-03 10.1080/03075079.2023.2240840 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Not Required 2025-06-12T16:02:37.0827667 2023-08-10T08:08:30.1845734 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Accounting and Finance Alpa Dhanani 0000-0002-2504-2616 1 Richard Baylis 2 64066__28616__cbf18aea646b4c96b98c15640b4ab864.pdf 64066.AAM.pdf 2023-09-22T09:18:30.6798614 Output 351858 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true 2025-02-09T00:00:00.0000000 true eng
title Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?
spellingShingle Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?
Richard Baylis
title_short Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?
title_full Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?
title_fullStr Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?
title_full_unstemmed Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?
title_sort Elite UK Business Schools: from cathedrals of learning to cathedrals of earning?
author_id_str_mv 94b4f1c7033b10801cd7696329c5d15d
author_id_fullname_str_mv 94b4f1c7033b10801cd7696329c5d15d_***_Richard Baylis
author Richard Baylis
author2 Alpa Dhanani
Richard Baylis
format Journal article
container_title Studies in Higher Education
container_volume 49
container_issue 3
container_start_page 505
publishDate 2024
institution Swansea University
issn 0307-5079
1470-174X
doi_str_mv 10.1080/03075079.2023.2240840
publisher Informa UK Limited
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Management - Accounting and Finance{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Accounting and Finance
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description Changes in government policy and funding structures, alongside a rapidly evolving (international) market for education have made education provision a key revenue driver for UK higher education institutions. In this setting, the Russell Group of Universities (RGU), a self-selected association of elite, research-intensive universities and Business Schools (BSs) appear to be at the forefront of commercialising their educational activities at an institutional and a discipline level to enhance revenues. Using interview evidence from established academics, and drawing on the framework of academic capitalism and notions of morality in higher education, respectively, this study explores the play-out of the commercialisation of educational activities at a selection of RGU BSs and its implications for education provision. Results suggest major shifts in university cultures and systems – aligning them to capitalise on the market for (international) education. Activities include the creation of a suite of demand- and efficiency-led programmes in response to market intelligence, establishment of financial targets to nurture growth, efforts to seek out new markets and influencing admissions practices. The ensuing changes have disrupted extensively the educational spaces at the micro level in which meaningful learning for business students, as nurtured by values of academic care and responsibility, can take place. Operating at a distance from their students and in restrictive ways in response to large student numbers, faculty are limited in the extent to which they can enrich these students’ experiences and enable them to reach their full potential.
published_date 2024-03-03T05:10:45Z
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score 11.090071

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