Memorandum submitted by Professor Keith
Mander, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Resources), on behalf
of the University of Kent
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Higher education is a key component of lifelong
learning and one of the cornerstones of the knowledge society
of the 21st century. A diverse HE sector can encourage a diverse
population to participate in higher education. This is to be welcomed.
It is vital that the UK HE sector is internationally competitive
in the recruitment of international students, and in educating
a workforce that can compete effectively in internationally competitive
markets. There is a danger, however, that UK society is becoming
polarised in its educational attainment and aspirations. With
limited resources, there will always be a tension between improving
the basic skills of the population as a whole and improving the
educational attainment of those who can make the greatest contribution
to a high-skill economy.
The current system of HE funding does not fund
providers at the same rate for similar provision. It should be
a principle of HE funding that there should be equal funding for
similar provision. HEIs seek an objective and stable funding method.
The Government should consider tax relief on study costs as a
way to encourage people to undertake accredited courses and other
courses that fulfil a national need. This would have a cost, but
would generate higher tax revenue in the longer term if earnings
increase and the economy grows. The UK needs a clear system of
funding that follows students (either as a contribution to an
institution's teaching costs or the student's maintenance costs)
coupled with a broad range of higher education provision.
Policies that more explicitly define excellence
in research and which seek to allocate public funds more deliberately
to institutions that are regarded as the best will have negative
rather than positive effects in the longer term. Public funding
for research should be placed wherever research excellence is
to be found. The sources of research money other than from government
are growing and becoming more international. A properly funding
research base is more likely to be able to access these sources.
Postgraduate qualifications are now replacing
undergraduate qualifications as a preparation for leadership in
society. A further expansion of the HE sector can be expected
as people seek to improve their employment prospects through postgraduate
education. As the use of information and communication technology
spreads, students will be able (and probably be expected) to exercise
more choice and to pace their own learning. The government should
not attempt to shape the structure of the sector. It should rely
on the sector itself to provide the creativity necessary to respond
to market demands.
THE ROLE
OF UNIVERSITIES
OVER THE
NEXT 5-10 YEARS
1. Higher education is a key component of
lifelong learning and one of the cornerstones of the knowledge
society of the 21st century
Educational attainment is a driving force behind
social, economic and personal prosperity, as well as technological
progress. But the market encouraged by variable fees and league
tables, and the increasing number of higher education institutions
in the UK, increase the institutional diversity of the HE sector
to the point where few individual institutions will deliver the
range of activities covered by the sector as a whole.
2. A diverse HE sector can encourage a diverse
population to participate in higher education
This is to be welcomed. Better educated populations
are more prosperous, healthier, longer living, and suffer less
crime; they form the basis of a workforce better able to compete
internationally.
3. It is vital that the UK HE sector is internationally
competitive in at least two areas
First, in the recruitment of international students,
providing much-needed income to the HE sector and contributing
to the UK's influence overseas. Secondly, in educating a workforce
that can compete effectively in internationally competitive markets,
particularly in areas requiring a high level of knowledge and
skill. But many of today's internationally competitive markets
are facilitated by information technology, allowing education
to be delivered, and companies to compete, on a truly global scale
that does not depend on physical proximity. The economic advantage
that the UK derived from being a provider of higher education
through the medium of the English language is being eroded by
other countries, including those in Europe and Asia, adopting
English as the language of instruction. Many institutions are
also embracing information technology to facilitate the local
(to the student) delivery of education.
4. There is a danger, however, that UK society
is becoming polarised in its educational attainment and aspirations
First, around 16% of the adult population is
functionally illiterate and over 20% functionally innumerate.
Secondly, variable fees will expose the worst aspects of the student
market in that those in greatest need of the support of bursaries
to participate in higher education will find the greatest difficulty
in accessing that support because they lack the confidence to
navigate the necessary bureaucracy. With limited resources, there
will always be a tension between improving the basic skills of
the population as a whole and improving the educational attainment
of those who can make the greatest contribution to a high-skill
economy. Both can be addressed with increased resources, and the
HE sector has an interest in seeing increased resources allocated
to it, but raising the necessary resource from individuals (who
might be thought to make the greatest individual gain from the
consequential improvements in HE) must be balanced against the
disincentive that increased individual contributions provide to
those who are traditionally debt-/risk-averse if access to education
on the basis of ability and potential (rather than ability to
pay) is to be encouraged.
5. Students have diverse needs and expectations
of HE
An exciting programme of study; an education
that creates and supports excellent career opportunities; a stimulating
environment that supports personal development. Many students
will combine work with study, either working to fund their studies
(particularly undergraduates), or studying as continuing professional
development (CPD). Postgraduates studying as part of their continuing
professional development will be increasingly common if, by 2020,
40% of adults are to be qualified to Level 4 as envisaged by the
Leitch Review. Further, if 70% of the 2020 working age population
has already completed its compulsory education, a greater engagement
with that working population rather than schools seems to be indicated.
UNIVERSITY FUNDING
6. The current system of HE funding does not
fund providers at the same rate for similar provision
The current "contract range" system,
based on historical principles, allows a variation of up to 10%
in funding levels, which is perverse when institutions with different
historical funding levels collaborate to deliver joint provision.
Further, funding weightings based on the location of a principal
office are now outmoded as institutions diversify their provision
geographically and through the use of technology. It should be
a principle of HE funding that there should be equal funding for
similar provision.
7. Increasingly "strategic" funding
is being drawn out of formula-driven funding
This adds an element of uncertainty to the funding
process at a time when HEIs seek an objective and stable funding
method. Funding for teaching should follow student demand, recognising
that part-time attendance may increase in future.
8. A truly variable fees market will produce
a truly variable offer across the sector, with the associated
volatility until such arrangements stabilised
It would have a number of consequences:
(i) an impact on management structures and
staffing, with a more flexible approach to the market and higher
variability of staff rewards and opportunities;
(ii) a danger of social divisions as students
from poor backgrounds are forced into low cost courses on grounds
of price;
(iii) the possibility that students will
be encouraged to take courses perceived to offer individual economic
advantage but which may not match the national need;
(iv) the opportunity to incentivise students
to take courses that fulfil a national need; and
(v) more part-time take-up as students seek
paid employment to offset the costs of their education.
9. The Government should consider tax relief
on study costs as a way to encourage people to undertake accredited
courses and other courses that fulfil a national need
This would have a cost, but would generate higher
tax revenue in the longer term if earnings increase and the economy
grows.
10. Funding to achieve transient political
aims tends to be unstable as predicting future needs is difficult
in a sector with long product development timescales
Similarly, industry cannot be expected to be
a significant funder of higher education to satisfy its demands
for a skilled workforce since it also operates on shorter timescales
than any specific educational initiative. The UK needs a clear
system of funding that follows students (either as a contribution
to an institution's teaching costs or the student's maintenance
costs) coupled with a broad range of higher education provision.
11. Universities generally manage their finances
very well
There has been increasing professionalism in
the management of university finances over recent years. The more
pressing issue may be one of more general management in increasingly
complex and devolved institutions.
12. There is a strong impulse, mainly derived
from fears about global economic competition, to develop policies
that more explicitly define excellence in research and which seek
to allocate public funds more deliberately to institutions that
are regarded as the best
This impulse should be treated with great caution
because there is limited understanding of the processes that have
made the UK a world leader in the creation of new and important
knowledge. There is a considerable risk of disturbing arrangements
and institutions in ways that have negative rather than positive
effects in the longer term. The publications of the Office of
Science and Technology and past inquiries by both Houses of Parliament
have shown that the UK, despite its size, has throughout the post-war
period maintained its place as second only to the US in many areas
of research and development. The reasons for this are complex
and only very partially understood. They do not indicate that
greater regulation and direction are the answer.
13. Concentrating government research funding
in fewer institutions is just as likely to lead to rigidity and
conservatism as it is to comparative advantage and innovation
The sources of public research funding should
remain varied and continue to be pluralist in the way they allocate
their funds and responsive to the ideas that emerge from a wide
range of institutions and individuals. The current systems for
allocating public funding to research have worked well over the
longer term. Recent moves to recognize the full costs of university
research have been an important step forward in securing the research
infrastructure. There is good reason to believe that spending
more through the same mechanisms will produce more knowledge.
The sources of research money other than from government are growing
and becoming more international. A properly funded research base
is more likely to be able to access these sources.
THE STRUCTURE
OF THE
HE SECTOR
14. Postgraduate qualifications are now replacing
undergraduate qualifications as a preparation for leadership in
society
A further expansion of the HE sector can be
expected as people seek to improve their employment prospects
through postgraduate education. But whereas the majority of undergraduate
education is based on the three-year full-time degree programme,
the majority of postgraduate education will be part-time, balancing
paid work with work-related study, will be done in small units
of credit, and may be completed online rather than face-to-face.
The HE sector will be appropriate and sustainable for the future
if it can adapt to this new type of student. If it does not adapt,
it will face increased competition from overseas providers, online
private providers and the FE sector.
15. As the use of information and communication
technology spreads, students will have a wider repertoire of learning
sources to draw on
These opportunities should foster a more creative
and critical approach to learning. Students will be able (and
probably be expected) to exercise more choice and to pace their
own learning. On the other hand, a mechanical use of available
technology as a mere teaching aid would stifle creativity.
16. The Government should not attempt to shape
the structure of the sector
It should rely on the sector itself to provide
the creativity necessary to respond to market demands. It should,
however, support, through strategic development funding, requests
from the sector to implement sector-derived initiatives that are
in the national need.
December 2006
| 
