Memorandum 20
Submission from the Open University Students
Association
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. I have found it very difficult to do
this matter justice in relation to the word limit, the timing
and the reduced timescale. This has been exacerbated by the rule
on "original work" since it is only very recently that
I compiled our submission for the HEFCE consultation. Despite
HEFCE having indicated that they were addressing the question
of "how" not "if", since it looked as if there
was going to be no other opportunity to express our views, I said
much in that submission that I now would have preferred to have
included here.
2. On the positive side, I very much welcome
this Inquiry and particularly the specific areas identified by
members of the Select Committee as their focus. However, notwithstanding
the importance to OU students of their University, and especially
in view of the restrictions, I must make it plain that my evidence
is entirely centred on the impact of this policy for students—as
individuals, as a body, and most of all, as potential students
in the future.
3. My evidence is that there is no merit
whatsoever in applying the ELQ policy to part time students; that
it is in fundamental opposition to any notion of lifelong learning;
that it will do huge damage to the prospects of thousands of adults
in this country and therefore also to the economy, the not for
profit and voluntary sectors; and the quality of citizenship.
It is fundamentally biased in as much as it affects 10 part time
students for every full time student. That overarching bias unsurprisingly
subsumes a range of other categories and groups of students who
will feel the impact disproportionately—the most obvious
being women returners, those displaced or made redundant and being
forced to retrain without employer support, older workers, disabled
people (whether economically active and not), and retired people.
Almost without exception, all those students who are going to
be subject to the ELQ policy are students who have made a decision
to invest both their own time and money in their education. These
are exactly the sort of people who should be encouraged and supported
rather than having what for many will be insurmountable obstacles
put in their way.
4. Given the limitations on the submission
of evidence, as a President representing an incredibly large and
diverse body of students, I have decided to honour my Association's
traditions and try as far as possible to enable those students
to speak for themselves. The bulk of my evidence consists of a
number of brief case studies. These are statements provided to
me by real, existing students who, if this policy was already
in operation would be subject to the ELQ provisions. I realise
that there is a limit to the level of detail that the Select Committee
can realistically hope to consider so I have tried to select a
small number of cases which are illustrative of the wide range
of ramifications.
ABOUT ME
5. I live and work in Belfast in the aerospace
industry. I have been an OU student since 2002 and am studying
towards a BSc honours degree, predominately in the area of computing.
I became OUSA President in June 2007 and head an organisation
of around 180,000 part time students the overwhelming majority
of whom are UK citizens. As well as advancing the interests of
current students I see it as a fundamental part of my role to
safeguard and wherever possible extend the opportunities for those
who we hope will come after us.
FACTUAL INFORMATION
6. The following evidence comes from real
students and is in their own words. I have done a minimum of editing
solely aimed at keeping the submissions brief. We have deliberately
not sought to over personalise the information but rather to attempt
to paint a picture of the types of students, the situations and
circumstances in which they will be affected and the wider implications.
I asked students to provide me with this information on the basis
that their names would not be published in any submission we made.
I hope that these will be accepted on my guarantee but I could
provide verification in confidence to the Committee should it
be necessary to do so.
7. Student LB
I am currently studying for a BSc in Geosciences,
this is due to realisation in my mid 30s that this was my true
passion, and the possible direction I want to go in professionally.
I hope to go on and study a MSc when I've completed it.
However, I already have a BA in Philosophy and
Politics which I undertook when I left school, nearly 20 years
ago. I feel that losing out on the support for the new degree
would be punishing me for a decision I made aged 17 before I had
any clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life.
Whilst I understand that I will probably continue
to receive support, as I have already started, I am concerned
that other people in my position will now be put off studying.
Before signing up, I calculated how much the
whole course would cost me. I work full time in the voluntary
sector, and the course fees take all my spare funds, any increase
would make it prohibitively expensive.
8. Student JH
First degree was in history and philosophy;
studied systems with the OU and obtained a Masters at Lancaster
University; want to do a Doctorate but need to improve my maths;
so I am studying OU maths courses to enable me to undertake a
Doctorate.
9. Student PP
I re-started studying with the OU four years
ago when I was 56; initially for interest and as a stimulus for
my brain. I already had a B.Ed and M.A in Education. The B.Ed
was only an ordinary degree. In the last three years with the
courses I have studied plus studies in education that I did in
the late 70's and early 80's I have gained a 2.1 Honours degree
of which I am immensely proud. I am now following A173, Starting
to Write Family History.
Clearly the new measures will have an adverse
effect. At the current prices I think the OU courses represent
good value for money. I do not know whether I would be able to
study if the costs were much higher. Yet as we grow older we need
to keep our minds alive. My mother had late onset Alzheimers.
This spectre hangs over me and I feel the OU can play a part staving
off this awful disease. It will represent a saving to the National
Health Service if I can keep exercising my brain. To me, study
with the OU is far more stimulating than the brain games that
are advertised on TV today.
Many pensioners already have qualifications
but want to continue to learn for interest and stimulation. It
is typical of this government that those of us who have paid through
our taxes are denied a return on our investment!
10. Student BD
I am probably one of those whom the ELQ changes
are aimed at. I gained a degree and a PhD in engineering in the
1970's, but just as I came out of university manufacturing industry
begun a rapid decline and after five years working as a research
scientist I was faced with the business I was working in being
wound up and decided to switch career into the then new world
of IT. I then spent 25 successful years in IT without a work related
degree, as did all of my colleagues who joined the industry in
the late 1970's, paying taxes, supporting British industry and
not placing any burdens on government budgets.
Towards the end of my career I was not fortunate
enough to be blessed with an intellectually challenging job and
to make up for this I began a Humanities degree with the OU specialising
in Art History and Philosophy. My studies kept my mind fresh and
able to deal with a relatively mundane, but productive job. My
work was subsequently off-shored to India and therefore I retired
early and now plan to complete my degree and begin another in
Mathematics.
My experience has shown me that the benefit
of higher education is to maintain a high level of intellectual
capability and not for work based training, which soon loses relevance.
As an early retiree I now undertake voluntary work with a number
of bodies, have a fledgling small business and want to be a productive
member of society for many years to come. Studying with the OU
is central to that aim. Restricting government support to career
based education for young people strikes me as being both unfair
and not thought through.
11. Student SH
I qualified as a teacher in 1991, but found
that it wasn't a career that I was well suited to. I left teaching
shortly after this and dedicated my time supporting people with
mental health problems first as a volunteer then as a paid worker.
My jobs have not earned me great salaries (sometimes not any salary)
but I enjoy doing such worthwhile work.
To gain work-based skills and qualifications
to ensure that I offer a high quality of support to some of the
most vulnerable members of society, I have benefited from doing
distance learning with the Open University. The charities that
I have worked for have very little money and can often not afford
to contribute to my studies.
I pay the full fee myself, which, as I value
education, I am happy to do, but can only afford to do this because
of the government subsidy.
The Open University allows me to study, gain
work-based skills while still working; I can not afford to study
any other way. It is helping me to progress in my career within
the voluntary sector and consider being a manager.
Funding for the charity I currently work for
faces cuts and it is likely that I will lose my job. The Open
University has enabled me to gain business skills to give me a
competitive edge within the job market.
Ultimately, business skills will enable me to
apply business practice to the voluntary sector organisation I
am likely to work in, helping me to ensure that public funds are
used efficiently.
I want very much to be a skilled member of the
workforce and put back what I learn into society, but will struggle
to do this without this government subsidy for continuing education,
as my first degree has not been a gateway to a high salary.
12. Student MN
Having left school with little or no formal
certificates, my work skills in the 1970's became unmarketable
because I could not provide "bits of paper". Worried
that I would become redundant and unemployable, I decided to do
re-training. I now have two OU degrees which I have had to pay
for as I could not get any student grants from banks nor did I
receive any support, financial or otherwise, from any of my employers.
I have now retired so studying is not going
to achieve any career development. However, as a Citizens Advice
Bureau volunteer, because we deal with a lot of debt and/or state
benefit cases, this year I studied "Personal Finance: You
and Your money" as the course was at an affordable cost as
well as being informative.
13. Student AJ
I obtained a B.A degree from another university
in 1998. I have been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder called
Bipolar. I find since I have been studying short courses I have
motivation. My medical team support me. Although, it seems impossible
for me to work I hope to further my studies by getting novels
published. My confidence would be low without the help the O.U
gives me.
14. Student KG
I already have a BSc in Crop Science and an
MPhil in Plant Breeding, which I obtained about 25 years ago.
However, I always struggled to find work and job opportunities
were limited. This was no fault of mine.
My education was designed for someone entering
agricultural research but government cutbacks and privatisations,
which started in the late 1970s, meant that the work prospects
were very limted in this area when I first left university in
the early 1980s. Also, there are far fewer people employed in
the agricultural sector now as a whole. However, I used these
degrees and worked in the agricultural sector for 15 years.
But when I had children and was forced to take
a career break, I decided to change direction to make the return
to work easier when my children were older. As there seemed to
be a shortage of people going to university to study maths, I
choose that direction. I've just completed the OU's BSc degree
in Mathematical Sciences and am awaiting my final results.
I have studied for an ELQ. In doing so I am
responding to demand in the workplace. When you first make decisions
at 18 about what you study, you do not know what the future holds.
Economic changes happened that were outside my control.
I have never been a high earner and while I
have been studying for my OU degree I have been in a part-time
job on little more than minimum wages. I could not have afforded
to study if the fees had been higher. I hope that now I am returning
to the workplace with a degree in a subject that is in a shortage
area and that is in demand by employers.
15. Student JD
I obtained my degree (Combined Arts) from Leicester
University in 1979, then went on to do a Post Graduate Certificate
in Education. After many years of teaching in a Primary school
and becoming the "Music Specialist", because I can play
the piano and sing, I thought it was about time I made it official.
So in 2006 I started my Music Diploma course: A214 followed by
AA314 this year. I have yet to get my results, but whatever the
outcome, of one thing I am certain, it has given me confidence
and a feeling of authority over the subject that I didn't have
before.
The two years were expensive costing about £1,400
in all and a diploma is a lesser qualification than a degree.
However, now I feel I can legitimately claim to be a "Music
Specialist" in the Primary sector.
My next project is going to be learning to speak
and write French.
This continual acquisition of new knowledge
and skills has got to be the way forward in life long education.
It cannot and must not be, only for those who can afford it and
only in computer and business studies. Taking a sideways step
to new skills is just as important as going ever upward with the
same skill. There is a big wide world out there which needs filling
with a multitude of skilled people from ALL walks of life and
ALL ages.
16. Student LS
In 1982, at the age of 21, I completed an ordinary
BA degree in French and Science in Society (yes I know it's a
strange combination!). I didn't really know what I wanted to do
with my life at the time, and ended up doing a secretarial course,
after which I worked as a secretary for 19 years.
I had felt rather discontent with secretarial
work for some time—it can be a good career but I didn't
really feel it was for me. In 1999, one of my friends got hold
of an OU prospectus. I decided it sounded very interesting so
I enrolled on the course MST121, Using Mathematics, after which
I switched to computing courses.
In 2002, when I was about half way through my
OU degree, I was made redundant from my secretarial job. By then
I felt I wanted to work in IT and started to work as an IT Volunteer
at Victim Support, the charity that supports victims of crime,
in order to gain some experience. About a year later, I was employed
by them on a fixed-term contract, and eventually on a permanent
contract. I therefore started my first IT job at the age of 41,
and am still
working on their IT Service Desk.
In 2006 I completed the named BSc in Computing
and gained a First.
Regarding funding, I doubt I would have studied
with the OU if the fees had been a lot higher, and would probably
still be doing secretarial work or something similar.
RECOMMENDATIONS
17. I would like the Committee to consider
including the following recommendations in its report:
(a) that the policy should not be applied
to part time HE students
(b) that the policy should not be applied
to part time students until there has been a thorough analysis
of its impact on such students with particular reference to the
impact on various groups of students which may be incompatible
with legislation aimed at ending various forms of discrimination
(c) that the policy should not be applied
to part time students until the results of the review of fees
and funding in 2009
(d) that the policy should not be applied
to students of the Open University in Northern Ireland
(e) that existing ELQ students should not
have any time limit applied to the completion of their current
award
(f) that there should be the widest possible
use of exemptions for part time students and particularly that
exemptions should apply to all vocational and professional development
courses, all strategically important and vulnerable subjects,
including ICT, all students whose previous qualifications are
more than 5 years old, and all students doing EQL courses as preparation
for a higher qualification.
January 2008
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