Based on a small-scale qualitative study, the article explores the perceptions of manager-academics on the state of the UK’s higher education sector. Universities have been undergoing a process of marketisation for some time now, but recent changes to the regulation and audit of their activities – as well as uncertainty engendered by broader events – arguably make this a turbulent period for the sector. Despite a growing body of critical work on academic labour in the ‘neoliberalising’ university, the management of these institutions remains an under-researched subject. The article considers perceptions of crisis and responsibility amongst a group of manager-academics who conceive the sector as being ‘under attack’, before exploring the relationship of ‘survival anxiety’ to audit, metrics and rankings. The article concludes by considering why the perceptions of senior academic managers matter for the future of universities.

基于小规模的定性研究，本文探讨了经理人学院对英国高等教育领域状况的看法。大学已经经历了一段时间的市场化进程，但是最近对其活动的监管和审核的变化以及更广泛事件引起的不确定性，可以说使这一时期成为该行业的动荡时期。尽管在“无奴役”大学中，有关学术工作的批判性工作在不断增长，但这些机构的管理仍然是研究不足的课题。在探讨“生存焦虑”与审计，指标和排名之间的关系之前，本文考虑了一群认为该行业处于“攻击中”的管理者学院派对危机和责任的看法。