Who will speak for the universities? the committee of vice-chancellors and principals in the age of mass higher education

Abstract

Since the demise of the University Grants Committee (UGC) the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) has had an opportunity to forge a new relationship to the state. While the Committee has continued to engage in elite negotiations with state institutions such as the funding and research councils, it has also become an active pressure group exerting its influence upon the political process in general. Perhaps more interesting than the recent change in the CVCP’s role is the way in which, given the expansion of the university sector following the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992, it will develop in the future. This future role, so the article argues, is dependent upon the interaction of two factors: the nature of the funding context imposed by government, and the ability of the Committee to sustain its own internal cohesion. The article poses alternative outcomes dependent upon contrasting interpretations as to how these two variables could develop. © 2017 Wiley. All rights reserved.