HE in Flux

This chapter describes the historical context in which the influence of neoliberalism on HE took place, offering a succinct history of higher education in the English context. It explains how universities have always had multiple purposes, yet, until the 1960s, the intrinsic non-economic aims of universities were heightened and accepted. After this, and especially from the 1980s onwards, the economic-instrumental aims of HE were foregrounded, particularly in government thinking. The idea that the purpose of universities is to provide students with human capital and serve the economy more widely slowly became dominant.