Industrial Union 620
The RAE is based on research conducted by active researchers in university departments, and partly refers to the amount of funds departments receive from research councils, thus reinforcing this divide further.
This state of affairs nurtures two negative effects On the one hand, it serves to automatically favour those students (or more often, their parents) who can afford the extortionate fees charged by the top universities, in terms of accessing good quality education, and in terms of potential for conducting their own research should they wish to do so.
On the other hand, poorer universities must glean an ever-increasing amount of funds from commercial and private enterprises. This means that the private sector, and therefore the interests of the private sector, is gaining an increasingly strong foothold in our education system. Furthermore, it is gaining its foothold in those colleges and universities that have no choice but to accept their money.
This state of affairs, HESA notes, is increasing at a fast rate, and shows no sign of change so long as QR funding is chosen on this basis. The RAE is due to expire in 2008, but its replacement is premised on the same basis, and is likely to compound the problem further.