Globalisation and Higher Education: The Work of the Neoliberal University: A Critique

The chapter argues that within capitalist systems, universities are corporations and act as such. They are comprised of a creative cadre and a techno-administrative one, the latter having grown so large as to overshadow the more creative one. Students must try to negotiate the university’s labyrinthine systems, structures, policies and practices. The capitalist and entrepreneurial university assiduously develops, promotes and guards its brand. The brand is an iconic representation of the university and the image it wishes to instill in the minds of the student and potential student (positioned as ‘consumers’ in neoliberalist terms), the general public, and governing bodies. Universities are of varied types. Some are public, not-for-profit. Others are for-profit and rapacious, going so far as to essentially defraud students (for whom they ought to have fiduciary responsibilities) and the government. Larger, more ‘prestigious’ universities have incredibly robust foundations built on the largesse of wealthy alumni donors. Many of these hide their monies in off-shore accounts so as to avoid paying taxes, like so many corporations, celebrities, sports stars, tyrannical despots and their families. A clear-eyed and fair critique of the (neoliberal) university ought to allow for its potential and promise. The chapter concludes that higher education still permits for social mobility, and mobility of other sorts. Universities still offer haven for dissidents and intellectual refugees, for those who are different and for those who seek knowledge, wisdom, and fulfilment, within or despite the maelstrom of neoliberal ideologies buttressing them.