Introduction

The United Kingdom’s higher education system has changed dramatically during the past decade. Government has decreed that the life and work of universities and colleges should become increasingly accountable to public scrutiny. The system must demonstrate that public funds are used responsibly and effectively to promote high quality teaching and research. Increasingly funding for both research and teaching is being linked to the quality of provision. Institutions are being encouraged to rely less exclusively upon funding sourced from taxation and to seek other means of raising their income by becoming more entrepreneurial within the wider educational marketplace.