Academic culture in U.K.

Here is the personal story of one U.K. professor. Many thanks to him (Vic)!
Whilst teaching at Connecticut, a shock for me was that, after setting a test, a student came marching into my lecture room and banged down a mark transcript in front of me and said "I pay good money to get (bad) marks like this"! One of my American colleagues explained to me that this arose because many Americans paid for their degrees (unlike the UK, where the government mostly pays) and so money in education was a bigger issue. Also, they said, that Americans are not as reserved as English people, and tend to protest or say what they think (and expect higher levels of service). For me this was a shock, as in the UK there is not really a significant link between money and education.
* I guess most people observe that although the UK and USA share a common language, there were lots of subtle differences. In terms of academic environments these differences effected me as, when I first arrived in Connecticut University, some American staff took me aside and explained there were many pitfalls that English people can fall into. Some of the differences were innocent, with little consequence (apart from being mildly amusing), whereas others could be a mini disaster if used in a teaching room. The one I remember was that English people call the device used to clean a white (or black) board a rubber; I was warned not to use that word in a US classroom!
* On the positive side; I thought the relationship between academics and industry was much better in the USA. In the UK, companies tend to think Universities are too academic, too theoretical, too abstract, too removed from their immediate business. Academics think the opposite and view industry work as not being of high intellectual value and not worthy of them (maybe a bit of an exaggeration; but essentially their view). I know many of my colleagues say "If I wanted to earn a lot of money I would have gone into Industry; I came to work in University because I value other things more, such as ideas, intellectual freedom and the belief in the value of education etc". Another issue is that UK, academics are paid for 12 months, whereas in the USA, some academics seemed to be paid for less (10 months?), thus Americans are freer to work in Industry. Thus, in the UK there is a divide that keeps the two apart. The UK government is aware of this (and feel is bad for the UK) and is currently investing much effort and money in trying to bring Industry and Universities closer.
* Regarding University campus life; I was also surprised to find there were armed police patrolling the Connecticut campus (the notion of armed police, or guns, is alien in the UK). When I asked why they had guns, I was asked "would you like to patrol this campus late at night without guns (of course I would be happy, but their mind-set was different). Here Universities, are relatively gentle places. It puzzled me, because as far as I could see, all the students in the US were relatively nice. I also found the campus banks weird; in the UK, we have national banks but on the Connecticut campus, banks were localised (they had some kind of cooperative or mutual society thing ... Still don't understand what it was) which made my money matters more complicated (maybe that was just Connecticut!). Also, I found the Connecticut campus fairly lonely, especially late at night where people seemed to disappear. Often, I found myself on my own with no staff or students around. in the UK, the Universities feel a lot busier, especially in the evening. In some ways, I found that was similar to American towns which didn't seem to have have social hubs in their centre (shops and amenities being often located in "out of town Malls:, and centre being some empty or dangerous). In the UK, town centres are full of people, and very sociable (maybe that experience was particular to Connecticut). I remember asking a colleague, how do you meet people and they replied; "through work or through the church". That is very different to the UK where church doesn't play a significant role. Also, on UK campuses you will find bars (and strong students union). I think the age for drinking alcohol is the USA is different (its 18 here), and that changes the atmosphere on campus (to a small extent)
* Another interesting difference is that alumni seem to play an important role in USA Universities; funding Universities after they leave. They also seemed to have strange student societies that I never figured out (referred by names from the Greek alphabet!). In the UK, alumni is less evident but Universities here are now trying to capitalise on their alumni more
* The UK is very closely physiologically connected to the USA. Because of our shared history, roots and language, there is almost a spiritual connection between the USA and UK. There is a genuine warmth and friendship between the people of the USA and UK. There is a strong feeling in the UK we share a fundamental value set with the USA (democracy, and all that). Recent history (the USA coming to the aid of the UK in two world wars) and their struggles against what they perceived as a common danger (The "Iron Curtin") has created a deep bond. This is mirrored in both politics, economic and education, where there is a tendency for the UK to follow the fashions that arise in the USA. As I grew up I remember stories about the USA and China, so for me it was fascinating to visit both countries and discover a different reality to those childhood images. In science, the USA has long been a global leader, so in my side of academia, we are very influenced by the USA (use US textbooks, equipment etc). Although the UK is in Europe, it I said by many people it has more in common with the USA. Of course, unlike the USA (but similar to China) , the UK has a huge history that stretches back thousands of years. I am sure, having lived in both China and the USA, you would find the differences fascinating. Talking of psychology, I also noticed that American academics have a more positive "can do" attitude than their English counterparts. People here people tend to be conservative and cautious about new things (so if you ask an English person about a new idea, they often come up with a list of drawbacks, whereas in the US, they were very positive and encouraging); however, it is said that despite US and English people having different starting points, they both converge quickly to the same views.
* Size and density is another important issue. USA Universities are huge (30K students) compared to much smaller UK Universities (our University is 9K). I remember watching TV programme about this that presented a film that was shown to American soldiers coming to England in the last war. Their main point was that England was a very small country, the size of Iowa but with a fifth of all America (60 million people) cramped into it. So they showed English homes with neighbours right next to each other. To me, of course, this is normal, lots of people in small space, but I guess that's what makes it social here.
* Something that is essential to understanding the UK is that its a very hierarchical place. At the top we have the queen, and below that princes and princesses (and a myriad of connected people) etc. This hierarchy is different to the USA, where its more an issue of money or jobs. This "snobbery" extends into Universities with many academics thinking they are better than other people, and within the University certain people thinking the are clever than others .... an academic snobbery. Academics are not that well paid in the UK, but they think they have a high status (in intellectual terms). Related to this is the fact that the USA has a written constitution, Britain does not. Things are changing here as the realism of market economies takes hold but you will never understand UK society (and Universities) without understanding this structure.
* In term of academic working hours (and companies in general) the UK has much longer holidays than the USA. I was very shocked when working in the University of Connecticut; I was working on Good Friday and all my friends back in the UK were on holiday (so no email with them, adding to my lonely feeling!)
* Finally, in the UK, people like old things; oddly old house fetch more than new houses (many house are hundreds of years old). In academia old University buildings seem to be preferred to brand new one (but I guess that is a global thing, as it has to do with status of universities; older being better!). Maybe as I get older people will like me :-)

Personally I really like American and enjoyed life there (although I preferred the west to the east; I have close friend I have visited many times in Arizona; well he is now in Phoenix, but CEO of a company in Albuquerque). Actually, I may not be entirely an average UK view as my dad was born in America! Its a very long, but fascinating story of love, dreams, hardship, inheritance, betrayal and twists of fate etc but not really something that's related to academic culture, so not really relevant!!! It must be a fascinating (and enriching) life for you to experience such different academic cultures as the USA and China ! Hopefully, one day you will be able to experience English academic culture (Liping seems to like it here!)

I'll stop here as I think I may have veered off focus ! Anyway, as always, its lovely to hear from you. If you need any more information, let me know and I'll do my best to help.

Bye for now; enjoy your day,

Vic