Following the confirmation of Professor Les Ebdon being appointed the new Director of OFFA, Professor Janet Beer, Chair of University Alliance and Vice Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University said: 

“We look forward to working with Professor Les Ebdon to ensure fairness is maintained at the heart of university access. His experience within the sector and of working with Government will put him in a good position to take up this important post.

“All universities are committed to providing opportunities for those who have the ambition and ability to succeed, regardless of their background. For many, the life-changing experience of university opens up opportunities they would not otherwise have.  Alliance universities, along with the rest of the sector, will continue to work closely with OFFA to ensure we stick to our commitment.”

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“[Parity of esteem] is a laudable aim, but it never did provide that equality of status because it does not compare like with like. It’s trying to put different types of qualifications into a single system. It doesn’t help anybody,” Hackett said.

Read the full article here - (behind paywall) 

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Photo by Polycart via Flickr

Last week I went to another Alliance university, Bournemouth, to give a lecture on what we can do, as a sector, to make the reality live up to the rhetoric of the White Paper in order to put students more profoundly at the heart of the system.

“If we are serious about putting students at the heart of the system we would need to look beyond this consumerist approach.”

The Coalition Government’s complete overhaul of the student finance system is, after all, not only based on our diminished public finances but on the widespread perception, held by successive Ministers, that the quality of the student experience had become a secondary consideration by many in the sector.  A wide range of organisations, the CBI as well as the National Student Forum (now defunct), the Select Committee as well as the Secretary of State, all expressed concern that priorities in higher education had shifted away from the provision of high quality learning and teaching.  The answer, Ministers – and Lord Browne – decided, was to put the finance in the hands of students to drive demand and improve quality.  A new ‘consumer’ based relationship would be born.

In Bournemouth, I argued that if we are serious about putting students at the heart of the system we would need to look beyond this consumerist approach. In Alliance universities we are working hard to ensure that students understand and take advantage of the widest possible range of the activities on offer, exploiting the potential for their academic work to connect with employers or with university staff and students overseas.  The relationship that students must have with the University, through its professionals, is that of co-creator – not the much contested term, consumer – if they are to shape their own experience and derive as much benefit from higher education as possible.

“It is not a simple consumerist relationship – students have to be involved in the development of their programme of activities.” 

Students look for all kinds of additional opportunities to enhance their academic achievements and it is the case that they increasingly value work experience, especially when that work experience is related to their area of study.  For students in subjects like History the absence of a professional body or an obvious set of professional destinations need not be a hindrance to engagement with employers.  Students in that discipline at Oxford Brookes, for instance, have had all kinds of project and work based opportunities with the extensive heritage organisations based in Oxford.  We have the evidence that graduates are much more likely to get their first choice of job if they take up some of the rich opportunities – for study or work abroad, research based project work, volunteering, placement learning, leadership in teams or societies, language learning – which are a part of the University premium that distinguishes us from new, for profit entrants to the market. It is not a simple consumerist relationship – students have to be involved in the development of their programme of activities in and out of the classroom or library.

But one of the most striking things about this approach is that it is not new, but built on decades, even centuries, of experience. Alliance universities have a rich heritage in this approach, many formed in the 19th Century to respond to the skills needed in the then changing and growing industrial economy.  Many of the features of higher education 20 years ago in institutions like Oxford Brookes – modular degrees, accreditation of work based learning, engagement of the professions in curriculum development, access to personalised learning – are common today in all our universities. So much of the work we were doing then remains central to the added value of a university education today.

“Time spent in higher education is not all about employment but about acquiring the capacity for reinvention.”

In 1991 our 5000 undergraduates were on individual programmes of study, tailored to their interests and needs.  Today students need to exercise many kinds of fine discriminations – as well as expending the blood, sweat and tears required by serious intellectual effort – about which of the wide range of opportunities available to them will add most to their experience and their future prospects.  Time spent in higher education is not all about employment but about acquiring the capacity for reinvention – of self, of society – in the broadest possible sense. It is about developing the capacity for rational argument, for well-founded research, for articulate and persuasive advocacy. But, equally as important is making the most of the opportunities on offer at university allowing students to develop to the full the potential for leading a substantial and well-rounded life (see examples on our student stories site) – an ambition to which we all aim to contribute and not one that can be reduced to a simple, consumer transaction.

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It is popularly agreed that ‘there are too many graduates’ in the UK. It is important to look at the evidence behind this claim as getting this right has big implications for the direction government policy should take as well as for individuals and the wider society. Seeking to increase the proportion of the UK workforce with degrees would be a waste of public (and, increasingly, private) funds if there really are ‘too many graduates’. Equally, moves to increase other forms of education and training or encouraging moves straight into the workforce at the expense of higher education could be detrimental to individuals, the economy and society if we do in fact need more graduates than we currently have.

However, the UK economy is not presenting any of the labour market signals that would suggest there are too many graduates in the economy. Graduate vacancies continue to grow. Jobs in ‘graduate dense’ occupations are an increasing proportion of the total workforce. Graduate employment rates have been maintained despite the rapid expansion in the number of graduates. Added to all this there is still a significant graduate premium. Contrary to popular belief, the evidence suggests that there is a shortage of graduates in the UK not too many.

This is interesting and worth reflecting on. However, the question that decision makers need to be asking is ‘what next?’ What is the bigger picture? Investing in universities isn’t primarily about short term gain (although there is some of that). It is about investing in the longer term future of individuals, the economy and society. Forecasts show that most growth in the labour market over the next decade will be in jobs typically performed by graduates. Advances in technology are changing the way we work and the type of work we do. Routine tasks within occupations are being automated or outsourced. Highly innovative businesses account for a disproportionate amount of overall business growth. And it is typically graduates who have the attributes and qualities to adapt and perform best in this emerging innovation landscape.

If you see higher education as a luxury good it would make perfect sense to limit or reduce the number of student places – an exclusive experience for the lucky, wealthy or very deserving few. But higher education is not a luxury good. It is a public good. The future labour market will need increasing numbers of graduates. As workers are displaced from routine occupations we can either open up routes into higher education to facilitate upwards mobility or we can risk seeing increased competition at the low end of the labour market, contributing to increased unemployment and difficulty in finding entry level jobs.

Demand is high. Applying market logic would see the total number of student places increased. Instead they have been quietly cut by around 24,000 places compared with last year.  Budgets may be limited but we should be stating the case for increasing the budget for higher education in future years. Until then we need to think creatively about how to increase the total number of well-funded, high quality student places to meet current and future need for more graduates in the UK – answers on a postcard to 1 Victoria Street.

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In an article in Times Higher Education (THE) Libby Hackett, director of the University Alliance said the unexpected hit was bad for student choice as many of the institutions affected were performing strongly on applications.

“You are looking at universities that have held up very strong demand per place or have increased applications and at the same time they are seeing a significant drop in places of up to 14 per cent in just one year,” she said.

“Overall, the places being taken out of the system in 2012-13 or transferred to further education means there will be about 25,000 fewer young people able to go to university compared with this year. With growing demand for graduates in our economy and massive youth unemployment, this seems nonsensical.”

The Alliance wrote to government ministers late last year suggesting “fairer” ways to apply the margin to avoid a “false divide” in the sector, but a decision on the future of the policy, as well as the AAB plan, has been delayed.

“We urgently need a decision on core and margin for 2013-14 that reflects student demand and to enable universities and other higher education providers to undertake essential planning decisions as well-run, efficient businesses,” Ms Hackett added.

Read the full article.

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In the article “Pile them high”, The Economist argues that ‘Steep tuition fees are not deterring most students. But the attempt to create a market in higher education is off track.”

Libby Hackett, Director of University Alliance, comments: “At a time when our global competitors are increasing the number of graduates in the workforce to increase their capacity for economic growth, how can Britain justify a reduction in university places?”

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Photo by Blue Square Thing via Flickr

Thursday 1 March 2012 – 2.00pm – 4.00pm

Book your place

Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre, Waterloo, London

You are invited to the next University Alliance Policy Seminar, Open Doors, with Professor Sir Tim Wilson.

Following the Wilson Review of Business – University Collaboration, Professor Wilson will be discussing the review’s findings along with a panel of experts from business and universities.

Universities working with business makes sense. Not just for the economy but for the future of talent, research and innovation in the UK. Open doors will be an opportunity for people from across the university sector, business and anyone with an interest in this area to discuss this collaboration in greater depth and explore ways of improving its effectiveness.

Speakers include:

• Chair: Professor Janet Beer, Oxford Brookes University
• Professor Sir Tim Wilson, Chair of the Wilson Review
• Andrew Battarbee, DBIS
• Trudy Norris-Grey, IT & Communications Industry Executive
• Matt Smith, NACUE
• Professor Julian Beer, Plymouth University

Refreshments will be served from 1.45pm. The event will start at 2pm with a panel discussion and Q&A followed by roundtable discussions.

Book your place

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Wednesday 29th February 2012
Westminster Studio, 10 Greycoat Place, London SW1P 1SB
Register 

Libby Hackett, Director of University Alliance, is speaking at this year’s event with stories from empowered students.

The conference will look at initiatives to improve graduate employability. It will highlight the need for a diverse and holistic approach to improving employability skills. A degree no longer guarantees a job. Institutions need to embed employability proficiency into courses and students must look outside the classroom to enhance their skill set through work placements, internships, voluntary and community work.

In a time of economic difficulty, students require diverse skills to stand out to prospective employers and will look to institutions with strong employment records. As fees rise Universities will work harder to attract students and employability will be a focus for many prospective students. Desires and demands from all sides must be more transparent to ensure today’s student is supported to becomes tomorrow’s valuable employee.

The conference will showcase the tools and innovations that students, institutions, professional bodies, trade bodies, skills providers, employers and the Government are engaging to drive us through this demanding time. How do graduates of ‘generation crunch’ emerge as individuals better equipped for employment in a global market?

For further information contact Paul Rushworth on 020 7960 6845, e-mail paul.rushworth@neilstewartassociates.co.uk

TO REGISTER TO ATTEND THIS EVENT PLEASE CLICK HERE

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Applications from Britons for full-time places at English universities fell back slightly from last year’s record high, providing the first evidence that higher tuition fees could be deterring some would-be students, according to new statistics released by Ucas, the universities admissions service, Chris Cook reports. Read the full article here.
Libby Hacket, director of the University Alliance, a “mission group” of 24 newer British universities, said: “We must not forget there will still be thousands of young people who will be unable to find a place at university this summer and will join the growing number who are unemployed”.

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