ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses an updated corpus of mission statements from a wider range of UK higher education institutions than was examined in the 2010 study. It examines another marketable commodity in the 21st-century university – that of the ‘Key Performance Indicators’ of diversity. R. Burrows argues that the nature of markets in higher education is a form of simulation. League tables and constant audit of metrics, designed to further regimes of accountability, have mimicked the market by transforming universities into sites of competition. The paradox, however, is that the formulaic nature of university mission statements betrays a rather undifferentiated approach to the mission of higher education institutions. British universities have felt compelled by government incentives to brand themselves in pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, graduate education, local outreach, international impact and economic relevance to the extent that all believe they must fulfil each mission.
