There should be more transparency on the relationship between teaching and research in English universities, while having a single government minister covering both aspects would bring more coherence, according to the former head of the sector regulator.
“The lack of transparency about the relationship between teaching and research within the sector, and the lack of shared understanding between sector and government, risk undermining coherence and effectiveness in policy development and implementation,” impacting on areas of policy “such as the size and shape of the sector, funding strategy, institutional cross-subsidies, civic engagement, and articulation between further and higher education”, writes Nicola Dandridge, now professor of practice in higher education policy at the University of Bristol, in a report published by the Higher Education Policy Institute on 20 July.
The shift to a “single tertiary model” of regulation – as has taken place in Wales and which could be likely in England under a Labour government – “would inevitably require consideration of the appropriate allocation and funding of teaching and research activities between institutions”, it adds.
Ms Dandridge, a former chief executive of the Office for Students and Universities UK, told Times Higher Education: “Although teaching and research are each generally very strong, my concern is that the relationship between the two lacks transparency – both within the sector and between the sector and government.
