Memorandum 23
Submission from the Council for the Mathematical
Sciences (CMS)
The Council for the Mathematical Sciences (CMS),
comprising the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications,
the London Mathematical Society, the Royal Statistical Society,
the Edinburgh Mathematical Society and the Operational Research
Society, is pleased to present its evidence to the Innovation,
Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee Inquiry on Implementing
Skills and Training Policies.
The CMS is an authoritative and objective body
able to speak on the role of the mathematical sciences in UK higher
education, research, business, industry and the public sector,
and to engage with and respond to policy decisions that affect
the mathematical sciences in these areas.
1. The Innovation, Universities, Science
and Skills Select Committee has invited submissions of evidence
on what regional structures exist for delivering the Leitch agenda
on skills, and the role of the higher education sector in delivering
a region-based agenda. This submission concentrates on structures
for mathematical sciences skills at level 4.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF MATHEMATICAL
SCIENCES COURSES
AND DEPARTMENTS
TO THE
LEITCH AGENDA
2. The Leitch report recommended a commitment
to increasing the proportion of adults trained to level 4[68],
and called for a focus on economically valuable skills[69].
The report argued that economically valuable skills can be identified
where employers are prepared to pay higher wages to those with
particular qualifications[70].
3. Maths skills at all levels are a crucial
element of a well-trained and flexible workforce. It is important
that all those who undertake HE courses have a proper understanding
of the mathematics underlying their subjects, be they other STEM
subjects, economics, business or marketing courses. Mathematics
graduates are highly sought-after and are well-placed in tables
of comparative earnings[71]—that
is, mathematics skills at level 4 are economically valuable. The
implementation of the Leitch agenda should therefore encompass
availability of mathematics courses and departments, both to provide
training in the mathematical sciences and to underpin training
in other subjects.
4. This requires that all HEIs recognise
the role that mathematics plays in providing local, regional and
national skills for mathematicians for industry, mathematics teachers,
engineers and technicians, or graduates in commercial subjects.
The loss of mathematics departments, courses and educators from
a university will have wide-ranging effects across all these areas.
THE IMPORTANCE
OF REGIONAL
PROVISION OF
HE COURSES TO
WIDENING PARTICIPATION
AND THE
IMPACT OF
DEPARTMENTAL CLOSURES
5. There is evidence to suggest that regions
benefit by graduates remaining there after qualification; conversely,
a poor geographical distribution of courses can therefore be expected
to lead to a shortage of specialist mathematics teachers in an
area and hinder the regional delivery of the Leitch agenda with
respect to improving the teaching of numerical skills teaching
in schools and colleges.
6. Lord Leitch's report concluded that "it
is critical that access to university is dramatically improved
so that young people from all backgrounds have a fair chance of
attending"[72].
The existence of high-quality honours degree courses in mathematics
distributed throughout the UK is vital to widening participation
to students who, for a variety of reasons, need or wish to live
at home whilst studying. In particular, the existence of "local"
courses with more moderate entry requirements (termed "broader
entry" courses below) is essential.
CURRENT REGIONAL
STRUCTURES FOR
DELIVERY OF
MATHEMATICS SKILLS
IN HE
7. Our analysis of course provision (based
on A-level achievement) shows significant sub-regions of the UK
where there is no "broader entry" course provision.
We refer the Committee to our recent report Keeping HE Maths
Where it Counts[73],
which examined the drivers and implications
of the decline in provision of "broader entry" mathematical
sciences courses, noting the effects of RAE funding decisions
on the sustainability of departments and therefore courses. Termination
of recruitment to courses at Bangor and Hull in recent years has
had a noticeable effect on the provision of broader entry courses
in North Wales and East Yorkshire, and provision is sparse in
the whole of Eastern England, Wales and in the central and western
parts of southern England.
April 2008
68 Prosperity for all in the global economy-world
class skills: Paragraph 3.59 Back
69
Ibid. Paragraph 3.68 Back
70
Ibid. Paragraph 4.32 Back
71
See, for instance, NC O'Leary and PJ Sloane: "The Return
to a University Education in Great Britain" National Institute
Economic Review.2005; 193: 75-89, Universities UK: Research
Report: The economic benefits of a degree (February 2007),
and others. Back
72
Prosperity for all in the global economy-world class skills
: Paragraph 3.63 Back
73
Available from www.cms.ac.uk/reports/2007/steele_report.pdf, and
attached to this submission for the Committee's reference (not
printed) Back
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