The Naked University

This book chapter discusses the challenges faced by higher education in the United Kingdom due to the increasing focus on measuring the worth of institutions in largely economic terms. It is argued that the values that underpin playful approaches can inform an ontology of the "naked" university, and from this derive three principles for embedding playful values throughout institutions. By fostering student-led learning, intrinsic motivation, and nurturing creativity, playfulness can potentially mitigate the negative consequences of assessment culture. The chapter also highlights the growing number of academic critiques of the neoliberal agenda in the university sector, which focuses on performance, measurement, economic value, and revenue-generation, and reduces the value of a university to that which is measurable. The original idea of a university as a creator of knowledge and facilitator of learning for the public good is being replaced by a view of higher education as a product. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the need for a shift towards a more ethical exploration of what it means to be a university.