1. Disruption and distinctiveness in
Higher Education
Professor Wendy Purcell
Vice-Chancellor, Plymouth University
23rd October 2013

2. Some features of the last decade …
• Growth and massification
• Demand outstrips heavily regulated supply
• Persistence 3 year residential degree model
• Prestige of traditional models
• Private providers and FE marginal/subordinate
to universities

3. Over the next three years…
•
•
•
•
•
New HE funding model in full effect by 2015
HE will be a more marketised environment
Partnership models: private, business, other
Emphasis on quality and value - ROI
Reputation is what we leverage against
OLD WORLD Public funding for public good
NEW WORLD Income earned through value delivered

5. Vision for the HE sector in 30 years?
•
More accessible/more elite
•
More/less community engagement
•
More global/more local
•
High/low quality sector
•
More/fewer students
•
More/less funding
•
More/fewer HEIs
•
More/less regulation
etc…
Research outcomes from work undertaken by the Long-term Strategy Group of Universities
UK; Spring 2011

7. Looking at other sectors …
‘BOLD – How to be brave in business and win ‘ SMITH & MILLIGAN

8. Lessons from other sectors?
New entrants?
Innovation?
Continued market
domination for a time ?
• Lots of small niche suppliers & some big value entrants
• In what is offered services, pricing, support, etc
• Biggest and most financial sound of the ‘incumbents’
Failures, mergers and take• Amongst both original players and new entrants
overs?
New regulation ?
New sources of funding?
• To protect consumer interests; competition law
• An influx of foreign investment at some point

9. O2
“In a market becoming more and more
commoditised, we could differentiate by
looking at the experience we delivered.”
“We'll try and set the rules by which we think
the game should be played and then others
can choose to compete as they wish.”

10. Burberry
“Our heritage is our foundation, but we continue to
grow and develop.”
“There's only one brand - so tighten control over
anything the consumer sees.”
“The perfect storm - continue to invest in those things
which are customer facing in order to continue to fuel
growth.”

11. Disruption can drive innovation …
“If I asked people what they
wanted, they would have said ‘faster
horses’.”
Henry Ford, early 1900s
Entrepreneurial leaders view disruption as a source of opportunity

12. Slide Title
Disruption of Higher Education
New entrants, new models
Unbundling of delivery
Networks of providers
Differentiation
Pricing
etc…

13. Challenges = Opportunities

14. Impact on UK HE
Increasingly global environment for higher education
Marketised - focus on choice, price and value
= the product
Distinctiveness, reputation, return on investment
= student experience
Policy changes, affordability, sustainability
= transformation
Disruption
Expectations
Economic
Technological
Societal
Governmental
… Income earned through value delivered

15. Challenges and Priorities
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Student choice, experience and ROI
Quality and innovation
Financial sustainability
Resilience and strategic agility
Communicating distinctiveness and the offer
Internationalisation and globalisation
Leadership capacity and models
and many (many) more!
… invest in growth and building reputation

16. Higher Education as a public good
Self-interest to Service
Ivory Tower to Connected
Exclusive to Inclusive
Knowledge Creation and Knowledge Exchange
Tax to Investment
Local to Global
Institutional to Civic Leadership

17. Beyond budgeting
• How the sector is changed/has changed
WHAT WE DO HERE MATTERS ...

18. Leading, governing and managing
enterprising HEIs
HEFCE Project
•
•
•
•
•
Differentiation and distinctiveness strategies
Red and blue oceans – crowded market to new market spaces
Race to the middle
Importance of heritage and establishing a ‘sense of place’
Not aligned with UK Mission Groups

19. Axes of distinctiveness
Focus:
o Enterprise approach
o Professions/employer engaged
o Research priority
o Specialist
o Distance learning
Academic offer & pricing
Situational leadership & style
The
leadership
challenge

20. Distinctiveness strategies UK
HEFCE
Leadership, Governa
nce and
Management Project

21. Slide Title

23. Students as partners

24. World class research
• Seeking solutions to the ‘grand challenges’ of our day
• World-leading research – key areas, focus, critical
mass, environment
• Pedagogy in HE & research-informed teaching
• Public engagement – community research awards
• Student engagement

25. International

26. Community
Transforming lives …

27. WHAT WE DO HERE MATTERS ...

28. Motivated employees
Innovation drives
superior customer
service
MISSION
values-centred
organisation
STRATEGY
Customer
satisfaction
Reputational
growth
Revenue growth
& profits

29. Race for excellence is a marathon
and not a sprint!
• Top 10 ranked universities founded before 1900 & two >8
centuries old!
• Accelerating factors for ‘late-comers’
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use of English
Distinctiveness & critical mass
Relative benchmarking to competitors
Pedagogic innovation
Leadership & investment
Stay the course and keep the long view
Top 100 under 50 years ranking and top 300 world ranking

30. “If you want to build a ship,
don’t herd people together to collect wood,
and don’t assign them tasks and work,
but rather teach them to long for
the endless immensity of the sea.”
Antoine de Saint Exupery, 1900-1944 Writer

31. Disruption and distinctiveness in
Higher Education
Professor Wendy Purcell
Vice-Chancellor, Plymouth University
23rd October 2013