Written evidence submitted by the London
School of Business & Finance
INTRODUCTION
1. The London School of Business and Finance
(LSBF) is a privately financed, global leader in high performance
learning solutions. We are the fastest-growing business school
in Europe, with 20,000 students and over 20 offices worldwide.
Students come from over 150 countries to study at our campuses
in Manchester, Birmingham, and London.
2. LSBF is a market leader in developing learning
solutions that meet the needs of students and employers. LSBF
takes a problem-solving approach to education, identifying skills
shortages and gaps in the market and developing the most up-to-date
and relevant courses for students and trainees. We provide a unique
bridge between the formal education system and the ever-changing
financial industry, working with three of the "Big Four"
accountancy firms and some of the world's top ten banks to develop
bespoke training solutions. LSBF's educational programmes range
from professional qualifications to undergraduate and postgraduate
degrees. More information about LSBF's offerings is available
here: http://www.lsbf.org.uk/
3. We hope that the pending White Paper will
shed further light on the government's plans for widening participation
in and access to higher education. While we do not wish to prejudge
it, we feel that the White Paper must address - and indeed embrace
- the role that private providers can play in the future, in both
bolstering the UK's globally recognised excellence in higher education,
and meeting the economy's needs for a higher education system
that will enhance UK competitiveness.
4. In this short submission, we focus on two
ways that the government can meet its objectives:
— Showcasing
and encouraging innovation.
— Developing
a level playing field through simplified regulation.
INNOVATION
5. Although the UK has some of the finest institutions
of higher education in the world, it cannot take for granted that
its excellent reputation will endure. One aspect of global leadership
is innovation - developing new ways of ensuring that academic
content is delivered in a way that is appropriate to a rapidly
changing world.
6. Innovation does not happen merely for innovation's
sake. It is driven by the need (in the UK and globally) for a
higher education system that meets the needs of tomorrow's workforce
- developing the necessary skills for the economy and being delivered
in a way that is accessible to all.
7. It is particularly vital for private institutions
such as LSBF to be at the front edge of innovation. Driven by
the competitive requirement to meet the needs of students and
their future employers, indeed in order to stay competitive in
a global market, private institutions must innovate and respond
rapidly to a changing world. Importantly, the very best often
migrate to serve the needs of the student, the learning environment
and the requirement of the future employer faster and more efficiently
because they are unencumbered by legacy, history and slow moving
academic and operations systems.
8. In October 2010, LSBF launched the ground
breaking LSBF Global MBA, which gives people anywhere in the world
access to high-quality academic material at no cost, via a Facebook
portal.
9. The future of higher education is typified
in the LSBF Global MBA™ -
— Providing
truly universal access to quality academic material across
geographies and socio-economic spectrums. Anybody who has access
to the internet can view all of LSBF's MBA material (quality assured
by the University of Wales) for free.
— Building
on the social networking platforms that are the channels
through which people really communicate and live their lives.
— Providing
individuals with the opportunity to study all course content
for free. Students do not have to pay any fees until they
register for exams.
10. The entire ethos of the LSBF Global MBA is
centred on breaking down the old barriers of a stagnant higher
education system and providing the UK educational experience to
all regardless of age, "class", status, gender location
or religion.
11. While funding issues will no doubt play a
predominant role in the Committee's inquiry, LSBF encourages the
Committee to keep in mind the ultimate objective - to ensure a
robust, high quality and sustainable higher education system that
meets the needs of the UK economy. Such an end cannot be guaranteed
with old perspectives on higher education. The system must embrace
and reward innovation in a fast moving global sector.
REGULATION
12. Despite indications from the Minister of
State for Universities and Science that the government wishes
to see an increased role for the private sector in higher education
generally, recent proposals from the UK Border Agency will effectively
hinder the ability of private providers to compete, placing greater
regulatory burdens on them than are placed on publicly funded
universities when it comes to prospective students obtaining student
visas. LSBF finds that such a bias is inappropriate and actively
works against claims made in opposition and more recently while
in government that a "level playing field" for all quality
providers should be the government's ambition.
13. As Rt Hon David Willetts MP said in his speech
on 9 September 2010, "The acid test for HE providers is whether
they offer excellent teaching and a high-quality experience for
students. If they can do that, at a fair price, then it doesn't
matter whether they are old universities or new ones; for profit
or not for profit. They have something to contribute and should
have the chance to do so. That is the case for a more open market."
14. As a number of organisations have highlighted
in response to the UKBA's consultation on the student visa system,
the government's proposed changes could have significant adverse
implications for the British higher education industry and UK
plc more generally. LSBF has recommended to the UKBA that an economic
impact assessment and further consultation with the Department
for Business, Innovation and Skills must be conducted before proceeding.
We would encourage the committee to consider the UKBA's proposals
in its current inquiry.
15. With on-going issues with regard to student
visas, combined with changes to the university funding system,
now is the time to introduce a single regulatory body to govern
both public and private institutions of higher education, focusing
on establishing and maintaining high academic standards. The new
higher education funding environment has significantly reduced
real differences between public and private organisations, so
the previous rationale for maintaining two different regulatory
schemes is no longer valid.
16. A valuable paper by Universities UK[65]
notes that there is already substantial agreement by publicly
funded universities as well as private institutions around convergence
of the existing regulatory schemes. This entails improving the
sharing of information across regulators, consultation between
government and the private sector, conducting a strategic overview
of developments, and monitoring national and international trends.
17. A new regulatory system would (perhaps ironically)
be one-size fits all, bringing together regional institutions
with those with a global spread. It would cover FE as well as
HE realms, recognising Secretary of State Vince Cable MP's plea
to "ditch the anachronistic distinctions of status and value
between further and higher education".[66]
18. The regulatory system should have standards
as paramount and should be the policy arm to inform and deliver
Britain's higher education competitiveness. It is not just about
good regulation; it is about the needs of the UK.
19. The system should ensure a level playing
field for private providers. This includes allowing students of
private institutions to have access to the same funding mechanisms
- eg, the student loan system - that are available to students
of publicly funded universities. It must eliminate numerous other
regulatory inequalities, such as VAT exemptions, which place the
private sector at a financial disadvantage. It must even address
seemingly minor "auxiliary perks" such as the use of
".ac.uk" website domains.
20. This is not just "special interest pleading"
from a private institution. One body, accommodating both regional
and global higher education policy and standards setting,
avoids a fragmented system and facilitates a clearer, fairer and
competitive higher education strategy. Significantly, this enables
the government to not just influence the private sector's development
but to harness the full power of the private sector's offerings
and localities.
21. Ultimately, the beneficiary is the UK economy,
which needs a well-educated, well trained workforce.
14 March 2011
65 "The growth of private and for-profit higher
education providers in the UK", Universities UK, 2010. Back
66
Speech on Higher Education, 15 July 2010 Back
| 
