ABSTRACT
The global development of mass higher education in recent decades has understandably been combined with increasing demands by government for public accountability linked to performance indicators measured by national and global ranking systems. In some countries, especially England, there has been a consistent focus on an economic perspective. Governments promoting the idea of higher education as a regulated market have framed students as ‘customers’ and encouraged alternative providers of higher education to enter the ‘market’. These changes are part of a broader move in public services towards ‘new public management’, which has encouraged changes in how universities and colleges are managed and led. These circumstances challenge ideas about academic leadership and collegiality within institutions, and about collaboration between institutions. Cuthbert critically considers the extent to which academic collaboration and collegiality can still play a role in decision-making amongst university leaders in England.
