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Raising regional academic voices (alongside data) in higher education (HE) debate
Hayes, Sarah Hayes, Dennis Westwood, Andy Tuckett, Alan Barnett, Ronald
Hayes, Sarah
Hayes, Dennis
Westwood, Andy
Tuckett, Alan
Barnett, Ronald
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2020-05-13
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Abstract
As agendas for data-driven measures of excellence dominate policy in UK Higher Education (HE), we argue that the generic structure of national policy frameworks virtually silences regional voices. This furthers a territorially agnostic discourse about universities, downplays institutional history and purpose, risks concealing innovative practices, and fails to tackle entrenched inequalities. In response, we point to the value of live, place-based debate in HE institutions to highlight distributional inequity, raise local voices and connect these with national policy. Yet even as we compiled this article about HE debate, the Covid-19 pandemic took hold globally, cancelling face-to-face meetings, by necessity. We therefore draw on a postdigital perspective, as we share our individual dialogues in support of debate, via collective writing, against this new backdrop of social distancing and widespread uncertainty. We may not currently be able to convene our Midlands HE Policy Network (MHEPN) debates in person, but we can voice the essential part that regional universities play in connecting global technological and biological change, with local social projects, citizens and industry. Postdigital theory offers one route to understanding that Covid-19 does not sit apart from other political economic challenges in HE and beyond, that we need to debate simultaneously.
Citation
Hayes, S., Jopling, M., Hayes, D., Westwood, A., Tuckett, A. and barnett, R. (2020) Raising regional academic voices (alongside data) in higher education (HE) debate, Postdigital Science and Education (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00131-6
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Journal article
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en
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This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Springer in Postdigital Science and Education on 13/05/2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00131-6
The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.
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2524-4868