Originally published on January 20th, 2009

Allegations that the Scottish Government is pressuring leading universities, including Edinburgh, to change the content of their courses have provoked widespread anger among leading figures in Scottish higher education.

A letter to the chairman of the Scottish Funding Council from Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop seems to advocate tailoring course content to the state of the Scottish economy.

In the letter, Hyslop writes: “I expect the council to work with the sectors to ensure that...provision is capable of meeting both the short-term skills needs of the economy and changing demands in the context of a future economic recovery.”

Hyslop added that: “Our key ambitions will be to better develop entrepreneurial capacity and graduate employability, to work actively with employers to ensure skills learned during courses at college or university can be utilised to best effect in the workplace.”

While no current university principals have spoken publicly about the plans as yet, there is understood to be widespread anger among leading figures in Scottish higher education anxious about the implications for academic freedom.

Tony Axon, speaking on behalf of lecturers’ union UCU Scotland, said: “We would be very concerned if the funding council started dictating provision, particularly based on economic goals.”

“Tailoring courses to suit the needs of the economy is dangerous because it is so a fickle. Six months ago, training people to work in financial services would have seemed like a good idea.”

University of Edinburgh rectorial candidate and journalist Iain Mcwhirter told Student: “The Government can’t dictate what’s taught in universities. This amounts to an attack on academic freedom.”
The relationship between the Scottish Government and universities has remained tense since November 2007, when a high-profile dispute followed universities being granted an increase of £30m in budget funding, instead of the £168m they had asked for.

Speaking on Monday, Hyslop defended her proposal, saying that, as recepients of public funding universities should be “working together [with government] for the common good.”

She added: “Taxpayers would not expect us to provide a blank cheque to universities without universities contributing to the national goals of the country.”