Alienation, Class and Enclosure in UK Universities

The working conditions of many academics in UK universities have deteriorated sharply over the past two decades or so, even if ‘for many the academic labour process remains in its core activities of teaching, research, scholarship, counselling and administration remarkably constant’ in terms of the type of work performed (Miller, 1991: 111). There have been dramatic and drastic changes in higher education: university budgets, together with funding in general, such as student grants, have been cut; student numbers have increased; and, assessment of both teaching and research has been introduced with a vengeance. There has been a consequent effect on academic workloads. Academics have been squeezed by pressure from three sources. First, there is an increased number of students: a system designed to impart learning to a small elite, as well as providing an element of pastoral care, is now struggling to adjust to mass education. Second, related to the burgeoning student population, and despite the employment of dedicated administrators in many Alienation, Class and Enclosure in UK Universities