Academic regulation in UK higher education: part III ‐ the idea of “partnership in trust”

The third in a series of articles that explore the nature of academic regulation in the UK. Argues that UK higher education (HE) should aspire to a regulatory regime which is based on the principle of ‘partnership in trust’. The principle would facilitate a strategic move towards institutional self‐regulation for those institutions that demonstrate effective and consistent capacity for effective regulation. Recognises that public confidence in such a model would require a complementary emphasis on collective regulation at the level of the institution and subject. Explores the idea of partnership in a climate of trust through a hypothetical model of a self‐regulating university and considers the potential for new types of relationship that could be created by applying the principle.