The compliant environment

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of institutions as compliant environments, using data to monitor and enforce compliance with a range of external policies and initiatives, using the particular example of UK higher education (HE) institutions. The paper differs from previous studies by bringing together a range of policies and uses of data covering different areas of HE and demonstrating how they contribute to the common goal of compliance. Design/methodology/approach The compliant environment is defined in this context and the author has applied the preliminary model to a range of policies and cases that use and reuse data from staff and students in HE. Findings The findings show that the focus on compliance with these policies and initiatives has resulted in a high level of surveillance of staff and students and a lack of resistance towards policies that work against the goals of education and academia. Research limitations/implications This is the first study to bring together the range of areas in which policy compliance and data processing are entwined in HE. The study contributes to the academic literature on data and surveillance and on academic institutions as organisations. Practical implications The paper offers suggestions for resistance to compliance and data processing initiatives in HE. Originality/value This is the first study to bring together the range of areas in which policy compliance and data processing are entwined in HE. The study contributes to the academic literature on data and surveillance and on academic institutions as organisations.

UK University Initiatives Supporting Forced Migrants

“…Financial challenges are interwoven with the bureaucratic burdens placed upon universities to manage the presence of forced migrants within the wider student population (Murray 2018). Th e Home Offi ce is aff orded powers by the state to manage, monitor, and exclude forced migrants from HE (Oliver and Hughes 2018;Andrews 2019). Th e Immigration Act 2016 came into force in January 2018 and introduced new Home Offi ce powers to impose an explicit "no study" stipulation as part of the immigration bail conditions (these rules apply to higher education) imposed upon forced migrants with unresolved immigration status (Baron 2019).…”

“…HEIs are further challenged by the limited fi nancial incentives to include forced migrants, evident in the small number of HEIs relying on external donors. In the event that an HEI is judged to have mismanaged their role as border guard, punitive technologies of governance such as suspending a university's license to educate international students can be administered (Murray 2018;Andrews 2019). It could be argued that these potential penalties issued by the Home Offi ce act as a disincentive.…”