This book fuses together the seemingly disparate strands of rapid policy change over the last few years in higher education. It contains four parts, of which the first examines the controversial new funding system whereby, as it has been widely reported and discussed, universities receive less central funding and more funding from the charging of tuition fees. Indeed, not only have tuition fees been allowed to rise under the coalition government but those students who previously would have obtained assistance from the local education authorities, are also faced with tuition fees. This resulted in widespread tuition fee protests in 2010–11. The second and third parts of the book situate the higher education system in relation to ideas of marketisation and privatisation. Part four, about ‘financialisation’, revisits the themes introduced in the first part of the book, but focuses on uncertainty associated with the new higher education funding regime, especially the risks associated with student loan repayments and non-repayments.

The book does not explore each theme in immense detail, but that is not its main aim. Rather it presents an overarching picture of the direction of higher education, with the purpose of fuelling the understanding to of an audience of workers in higher education who may have previously considered these policies impenetrable or obscure. There are several areas in which this book enhances our understanding of what has happened in higher education. The first is what he terms the ‘democratic deficit’, the idea that workers in higher education have not been consulted on many of the changes in higher education, and if they have this consultation has occurred mainly with exclusive groups which many lecturers and researchers are unable to access or influence. The author also argues that academics have been ‘too willing to cede difficult chores to bureaucrats’ (p. 186). The second is the extent of privatisation of higher education. Rather than a few providers being singled out as private providers, McGettigan demonstrates how, from overseas income, credit products and outsourcing, forms of business have infiltrated into all corners of our campuses.

The third notable contribution is the author's ability to analyse the myriad of statistics relating to student loans, complete with comparisons to student loans systems in other countries. The UK scheme is not as punitive as the US scheme, and we can see – in the light of the coalition government's education agenda – which way we are heading. The poorest might obtain a small amount of assistance through a charity-like pot of money, administered through each university, based on criteria each institution can choose, but for the vast majority, the average cost of studying in the UK is £10,133 per year (NUS, average UK student, academic year 2012–13) (http://www.nus.org.uk/en/advice/money-and-funding/info-and-advice/average-costs-of-living-and-study/). The wider implications of student loans are not discussed at length in this book, such as the significant drops in students studying arts and humanities degrees and the reduction in applications from low income households. We should, therefore, undertake further research of a qualitative nature, which examines the personal lives of university applicants, students and higher education workers in order to understand how these policy changes have actually manifested in people's lives.

This is a must-read book for all those who work in higher education and are interested in current education policies. At the end of this book, I must admit to feeling quite exhausted as it was heavy on problems and light on solutions. But this is where some of McGettigan's own concluding words make sense: