Pandemic Privatisation in Higher Education: Edtech & University Reform

Education International Research

Pandemic Privatisation in Higher Education: Edtech & University Reform Ben Williamson & Anna Hogan February 2021

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Pandemic Privatisation in Higher Education: Edtech & University Reform

Published on Feb 2, 2021

COVID-19’s impact on higher education has been profound. At the peak of university closures, 220 million tertiary education students were affected globally. Higher education institutions have had to resort to emergency measures to continue education remotely. However, this research shows that the widespread pivot to online learning has provided the opportunity for private actors to reconfigure the sector for the long term. Higher education is becoming increasingly and rapidly privatised, commercialised, digitalized and datafied, with concerning consequences for academic freedom, professional autonomy, decent work, data privacy and ultimately, quality education. By Ben Williamson & Anna Hogan - Feb. 2021

Pandemic Privatisation in Higher Education: Edtech & University Reform

Articles inside

Role of unions

Research recommendations

7. Reproducing inequalities

6. Academic freedom and autonomy

4. Programmed pedagogic environments

5. Datafication and surveillance

10. Student and staff surveillance

1. Reimagining Higher Education

2. Governance by technology infrastructures

3. University-industry hybridities

7. Reimagining credentials

8. Challenger universities and new PPPs

5. Online program management

6. Student-consumer edtech

9. Campus in the cloud

11. AI transformations

4. Return of the MOOC

2. Market catalysts

4. Digitalisation and datafication

1. Higher Education privatisation and commercialisation

3. Global Higher Education Industry

2. States of emergency, exception and experimentation

3. About this report

1. Animating imaginaries

3. Learning management and experience platforms