Um Philips literally talks of snatching ‘suspected illegals’ off the street. That sounds pretty random to me - the only way it isn’t is we all know exactly what will qualify people to be ‘suspected’ in this fashion.

Well preyed.

Well, I should very much hope not.

Depends what that reputation was!

Yeah, not just institution-dependent but discipline-dependent - I think we might be an interesting control in any analysis of changing attitudes, since we haven’t moved at all!

Ah yes, reputation! Delightfully non-fungible…

Again, depends where. REF no longer delivers the big bucks if your uni does well. The pressure is all on tuition fee income.

Yes, really! As I say, I have no doubt that there have been material changes of different kinds, but those seem to be a consequence of the very marketisation which creates the space for the almost visceral hostility expressed not so much by students, but by their parents.

And research isn’t really being prioritised as far as I can see. We’re being loaded up with loads of other stuff and still expected to devote the same amount of time and energy to research.

Again, I think that’s institution- dependent. At my place (and we may beca weird exception), there’s been no change to contact hours or use of non-permanent (we need a better word for this, because no academic contracts appear to be permanent in a meaningful way these days) in three decades.

The friends who have expressed their unhappiness about their kids’ university education aren’t referencing this to their own experiences - they’re just talking about value for money. And there’s no obvious or meaningful way to calibrate that, given that education isn’t and can never be a commodity.

Indeed, things have changed, and often for the better - but negative changes re cohort sizes and their impact on contact hours etc (though I think that’s institution dependent) have largely been driven by marketisation - it’s a kind of pincer movement which has been bad for teachers and learners.