A crisis of opportunity at English universities: Rethinking higher education through the common good idea

Abstract

The ongoing pandemic has affected all aspects of human life globally. Universities have faced significant challenges in continuing their educational and research activities while at the same time becoming more visible due to their work on identifying treatments, developing vaccines, understanding the impact of the pandemic and exploring the ways of recovering from the crisis. English universities have been at the forefront of these global efforts and have had unique opportunities to contribute, and demonstrate their contribution, to the common good. This study is the first of its kind to offer an analysis of the new empirical material on how English universities have dealt with the pandemic from the perspective of the common good. It also offers a new, literature-based conceptualisation of the material manifestations of common good in the context of the pandemic. These key manifestations include widening participation, promoting social cohesion and democracy, promulgating a global knowledge system, promoting a sense of community embeddedness, and designing and implementing common-good oriented financial models for higher education. The study demonstrates that, despite some potentially perilous financial implications, English universities’ reactions to the pandemic indicate a move closer to the common good ideal. The paper explains this crisis of opportunity to argue that the pandemic offers potential for a shift towards the common good as a guiding principle for universities in order to support sustainable and equitable development.