Whatever Happened to the New? Absorbed into a Changing System of Higher Education?

Abstract

The chapter presents an overview of the current academic structures, with reference particularly to undergraduate studies, of the seven new English universities. It notes that there is constant reference to heritages of interdisciplinary studies but argues that, in practice for the most part, this means the offering of joint honours degree programmes of varying complexity. There is also a strong vocational element (from marketing to medicine) in many of these programmes with a strong desire (with many part-time courses) to order to enhance the size of the student base. All this is perfectly understandable in view of the market pressures that institutions face. The conclusion is that these have proven to be successful institutions, located firmly in the second from top tier of UK higher education. However, they have failed to reinvigorate the wide process of teaching and learning in the British system to spread the UGC’s message of the need to reinvigorate the new.