Over the last couple of months we’ve been having structured conversations with university leaders to try to tell what we see as an emerging story about why and how universities are changing their curricula.
Universities, contrary to the popular imagination, are no strangers to change. There’s pedagogic innovation happening all over universities and, typically, plenty of support for the development of learning, teaching, and curriculum for those motivated to take it up. But we’re getting the sense that something distinctive about the current moment demands whole-institution realignment rather than pockets of good practice.
Sarah Speight, pro vice chancellor for education and student experience, University of Nottingham told us: It’s about the future – future-proofing core business so that we are enabling students to fly: to make the most positive contributions to global challenges, hit the ground running, have skills, values, competencies that employers need – and to do that via an education that is authentic and reflects real-world environments.
Against a backdrop of public debate about the post-compulsory education landscape, public and policymaker consensus about the value and purpose of a university education can no longer be taken for granted. There’s a consciousness among university leaders of an opportunity to reset the social compact between universities and the wider world; a need to communicate a narrative of why higher education matters and how it prepares students to thrive – and interrogate what kinds of pedagogies and learning experiences will help them do so.
