Universities’ over-monitoring culture is a threat to academic freedom

This is consistent with the model of universities that I described in my pre-pandemic book, "The Decline and Renaissance of Universities. Moving from the Big Brother University to the Slow University," published by Springer in 2019. What is happening in the United States, the hard repression of pro-Gaza sit-ins, also fits with the current model of utilitarian university.

It is disingenuous to conflate the pro-Gaza sit-ins with the general move to excess monitoring. Such protests do no involve the majorty or staff (or students) and disrupt legitimate university activity, whereas the monitoring process is insidious and potentially impacts all staff. Luckily I am (a) about to retire and (b) working at a university that does not engage in heavy-handed monitoring. It is sad to hear that not all employers are as enlightened.

Sonce when did weighing a pig help the poor porker put on an ounce of weight? I find the one size fits all approach being taken towards VLEs particularly distressing, especially as online learning is my specialist area... and whoever designed our 'module template' certainly never asked my opinion. I want to see modules reflecting the style of the person teaching them, not what someone who doesn't teach has foisted on them without supporting evidence for why their ideas have any merit.

I had had my reading lists and seminar texts (both on my VLE) monitored and I have received "feedback" on both. I was employed because of my subject and pedagogic qualifications and experience, and yet some (self-appointed) colleagues want to make suggestions for "more appropriate" readings...