News: Find a Niche or Vanish - Inside Higher Ed - 3 views
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George Mehaffy on 07 Oct 10"Find a Niche or Vanish October 7, 2010 Too many universities lack a distinctive mission and risk being eaten up in the "bloody" competition that may follow a review of British higher education. That warning comes from Julian Beer, pro vice-chancellor for regional research and enterprise at the University of Plymouth, who is leading a sector-wide project on university strategy. Speaking to Times Higher Education just days before Lord Browne of Madingley was due to report his findings to the government, Beer said that an analysis of every institution's mission statement shows that about 70 are trying to cover too many bases and are spreading themselves too thinly. Too many universities simply state a desire to "achieve excellence in teaching and research" and appear unable to carve out a market niche, Beer said. Although elite institutions would flourish if an unregulated tuition-fee market was unleashed, thanks in part to their history and reputation, 30 to 40 institutions -- about a quarter of the sector -- could struggle. It would be "inevitable" that some would disappear, he added. "