Presentation on changing HE trends to AHUA and Linking London events.

1. Changing HE / higher skills provision
22nd March 2013
Louis Coiffait, Head of Research
@LouisMMCoiffait
The Pearson Think Tank
thepearsonthinktank.com

2. The Pearson Think Tank
Who are we and what do we do?
 Independent think tank focused on education access and quality
 Ongoing programme of research and thought-leadership
 The Academies Commission (with the RSA)
 Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education
 pearsonblueskies.com, on the future of higher education
 Careers2020
 University admissions
 Tuition fees
 Policy intelligence, analysis and comment e.g. Policy Watch, blogs
 All of our content and activities are free

3. The future of HE?

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5. Reminding ourselves of the current context
Why might HE / higher-level skills matter?
 2008 recession, 2013 0.6% UK growth, maybe even triple dip?
 Still c. 1m young people unemployed
 Plan A austerity, £11.5bn savings this Spending Round
 UK Plc, competitive knowledge economy, Made (better) in Britain?
 Radical changes to make UK HE / skills systems more ‘responsive’…

6. Reminding ourselves of the current context
Why might HE / higher-level skills matter?
ONS via Guardian http://goo.gl/VyPR6

7. Trends in UK HE / higher skills provision
What is currently happening on the ground?
 Funding increasingly follows learners in England, 4 nations diverging
 Increasingly competitive and marketised system, student ‘choice’
e.g. competing for 115k ABB students, Key Information Set (KIS)
 Total HE sector income up 2.8% and ‘efficiencies’ made...
but wide variation, low surpluses, 3.5% fall in 2012/13 learners
 Growing (narrow?) focus on outcomes by all stakeholders
education = employment = £ / growth / competitiveness ?
 Institutions seeking to be distinctive and attractive
e.g. How many are ‘The employability university’

8. Changing UK HE / higher skills
What alternatives are emerging, other than work?
 (Higher) apprenticeships, with strong government backing
…but ongoing challenges to delivering them well at scale
Why don’t more (than 2) HEI’s deliver higher apprenticeships?
 Large employers increasingly targeting school leavers
sometimes incorporating HE… the Morrisons Academy at Hull Uni
sometimes not… Deloitte BrightStart with professional quals
 Cost of HE; recent UK rises, USA already high
e.g. 2-year $100k Thiel fellowships (not to go to uni)
 Corrosive narrative of ‘too many thick kids on Mickey-mouse courses’

9. Changing UK HE / higher skills
How is part-time provision changing?
 -40% since 2010 (105k decline) - more sensitive to fees?
 Hard to measure, highly variable provision, blurred definitions
 Lower completion / achievement - impact on rankings
 A complex picture, needs careful institutional / national focus
 IES identified four types; career enhancers, career changers, non-
career learners and career entrants and suggested FE and private
providers have the most expansion potential
Institute for Employment Studies (IES) http://goo.gl/ibV15

10. Changing UK HE / higher skills
Can provision change to target/support other groups?
 How do these groups overlap with part-time learners?
 Mature learners
 Postgrads
 International students
 Opportunities for institutional and course specialisation?

11. Changing UK HE / higher skills
How is online provision changing?
 MOOCs MOOCs MOOCs MOOCs MOOCs MOOCs MOOCs (hype?)
 Face-to-face interaction can never be replaced, only augmented
 It is an acceleration of change, but the debate often too polarised
 Tends to miss the c.40 year history of distance and open learning
 Unclear where it leads the sector yet (though I’m pretty hopeful)
 Stupid name, soon MOOCs will just be known as … courses
(appropriately blended and personalised for the learner)
 Open up access. Make provision cheaper, flexible, data-supported
 How are institutions using technology to support their mission?
…and to target / support different specific groups?

12. Thank you!
thepearsonthinktank.com
@louismmcoiffait
…any questions?