In an interesting piece in Britain's The Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash asks a provocative question: "[C]an we, in Europe, have social justice in higher education and world-class research universities? Or must we choose?"
As Ash explains, globalization has hit the British university system, and universities have become "as much a global market as that for computers, oil, or financial services." Oxford, Cambridge and the like are competing with American universities for students and faculty, but this puts them at a disadvantage, given the "lower salaries, higher house prices and heavier teaching burdens" that academics in the British university system typically face.
The basic problem is money: the British universities need more of it to compete. Oxford has just announced a major fundraising drive, and eventually it may have to start charging higher tuition. But that could compromise the social democratic values which many of its students and faculty share, since it might put an Oxford education out of reach for many students of modest means. Oxford has sought to be scrupulously meritocratic in admissions, but that could change as well; if fundraising becomes more of a priority, there could increasing pressure to give special preference to alumni children and the rich.
Oxford's dilemma is a good example of the problematic nature of globalization. Globalization enthusiasts would probably argue that the end result of the globalized market for education will be higher quality schools, as competition gives universities an incentive to innovate and improve. But globalization can also exacerbate the winner-take-all effect, with prestigious schools becoming even more so because everyone wants to study there, teach there, and give them money. We see this already with Harvard and its mind-boggling $34 billion endowment.
The winner-take-all effect, combined with higher tuition and admissions policies that are biased more towards the privileged, could result in an education system that's not necessarily better, but is a whole lot less equal. And an increasingly unequal education system is a not only a product of economic inequality, but in and of itself helps to create and perpetuate yet more inequality. It is truly a vicious cycle.
--K.A. Geier
