Written evidence submitted by the Open
University
Executive Summary
1. The Open University[110]
(OU) advocates a system of higher education funding which:
— Ensures
equality of access,
— Provides
parity to full-time and part-time students,
— Enables
flexibility of study, and
— Sustains
and promotes quality.
2. We welcomed Lord Browne's commitment that
"higher education will be free at the point of entry for
all students, regardless of mode of study." Furthermore,
the Government's subsequent change - supported by all major parties
- that support should be extended to part-time students studying
at 25% intensity (rather than the original 33%) is constructive,
not least because it extends support to a further 19,000 students
at the OU alone.
3. Nevertheless, in order to meet the four principles
listed above, we argue that three important areas need to be addressed
- and considered in the BIS Select Committee's enquiry - in order
to avoid unintended consequences:
— To
ensure equality of access and support social mobility the Higher
Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE's) annual £372m
widening participation allocation to institutions, which
creates opportunity for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds,
must be retained.
— To
enable flexibility of study the "in-attendance" rule
(in the 1962 Education Act) which prevents full-time students
who study at a distance from receiving support, simply because
they are not "in-attendance" at an institution, should
be rescinded.
— To
ensure a system which does not discriminate on the grounds of
modes of study, the additional costs of delivering part-time higher
education should be offset through the part-time allocation.
4. If the remaining policy issues - in particular
the three above - are addressed positively in a spirit of delivering
a mode-blind funding system, we are confident that English higher
education will move significantly towards greater flexibility,
more dynamism and higher quality.
KEY ARGUMENTS
The value of part-time higher education
5. Part-time higher education makes a substantial
contribution to the UK economy. It provides the following benefits
to students, employers, Government and the nation:
— 39%
of students in England study part-time (500,000 undergraduates
per year).
— 89%
of part-time students study to further their career aims.
— 64%
study vocational or professional courses.
— Almost
30% belong to routine or manual socio-economic groups.
— 81%
of part-time undergraduate students remain in work while studying
and are net contributors to the Exchequer through income tax and
national insurance.
The distinctive contribution of The Open University
6. When the Prime Minister visited The Open University
in June 2010 he described the University as having "a huge,
huge role to play." He continued: "It is a great British
innovation and invention." On a visit to The Open University
in April 2010, the former Prime Minister stated that: "What
the OU has achieved in 40 years is remarkable. It has become the
greatest force for opportunity in Higher Education in this country."
7. These endorsements reflect the exceptional
contribution of The OU to British society:
— The
Open University is the UK's largest university, with over 260,000
students, teaching 35% of all part-time undergraduate students
in the UK each year.
— 25%
of our new undergraduates are under 25 years old (fastest growing
age group).
— 20%
of our new undergraduates come from the 25% most deprived areas
of the UK; 49% of our new undergraduates have 1 'A' level or lower
at entry.
— The
typical total cost for an OU degree is between £4,200 and
£5,860 compared with £10,125 elsewhere (2011-12).
— Four
out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff on OU courses.
— The
OU's presence on iTunes University is huge with 31 million downloads
in just two years - the most of any university globally.
— The
OU is consistently one of the highest ranked UK universities in
the National Student Survey - in the top three with a 93% satisfaction
rating in 2009-10.
— In
the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) the Open University
climbed 23 places to 43rd - the most improved institution in the
country
Higher Education reform - progress to date
8. We are grateful to the wide range of supporters
from across the higher education sector, the political spectrum
and public life more broadly who have
supported the campaign to establish parity between the four in
ten students who study part-time and the full-time sector; and
to sustain the contribution of the part-time sector to widening
participation.
9. Over the past six months, together, we have
achieved the following progress:
| 12th Oct | Lord Browne states that: "higher education will be free at the point of entry for all students, regardless of mode of study."
|
| 12th Oct | All three major parties state their unequivocal support for the principle of parity between full-time and part-time higher education.
|
| 9th Dec | Government reduces the intensity level at which part time students receive support to 25% (30 credits) which will help a further 19,000 students at the OU alone.
|
| 20th Dec | BIS letter to HEFCE reads: "for 2011-12 the top policy priorities for targeted funding should be supporting widening participation and fair access".
|
| 2nd Feb | The £372 allocation for widening participation - of which the OU receives £36 million - is one of the only allocations not to be drastically cut in HEFCE's letter to institutions.
|
| 4th Feb | David Willetts announces that part-time students earning more than £21,000 per year will be expected to begin repaying their fees three years after they start their course.
|
| 10th Feb | National Scholarship Programme is confirmed as being open to part-time and mature learners, and institutions charging below £6,000 having preferential match-funding arrangements (50% expectation rather than 100%).
|
10. We have achieved this, not only through the strength of
our argument and a widely held conviction that part-time higher
education is integral to the future success of our national economy,
but also because we are committed to engaging positively with
all stakeholders. We intend to continue this throughout the legislative
process and the Select Committee's inquiry.
11. This positive approach also requires honesty regarding
the areas where we have concerns that the promise of a mode-blind
system may not be implemented in reality. Some of these areas
are outlined in the following section.
Avoiding unintended consequences - key issues to be resolved
12. In order to develop the flexible, innovative higher education
sector that a high-skills global economy demands, we must level
the playing field between full-time and part-time higher education
and address the outstanding issues listed below.
Widening Participation Allocation
13. HEFCE currently provides £372 million to institutions
to support them with the additional costs of attracting and retaining
students from the most deprived areas and those in receipt of
disabled student allowances.
14. We welcome the fact that:
(a) Lord Browne proposed that this should continue though an Access
and Success Fund.
(b) BIS stated in the grant letter to HEFCE on 20th December
that: "for 2011-12 the top policy priorities for targeted funding
should be supporting widening participation and fair
access."
15. Encouragingly, this led HEFCE to state in its grant letter
to institutions on 2 February that: "We have protected widening
participation and improving retention to recognise the priority
given to social mobility, fair access and widening participation
in the BIS grant letter."
16. The OU's £37 million allocation from this fund has
provided opportunity to (in 2009-10): 15,387 new OU undergraduates
and 21,512 continuing undergraduates from the 25% most disadvantaged
communities in the UK and the 12,000 of our students with disabilities.
17. This record has been achieved through, amongst other initiatives,
our: Community Partnerships Programme which operates in deprived
areas to increase participation amongst adults from low socio-economic
groups; and Access courses (Openings and Taster courses) to equip
those with little or no recent educational experience with the
knowledge, skills and confidence to begin HE level study. These
courses attract 18,000 students a year.
18. However, this allocation and the vital outcomes it produces,
remain vulnerable beyond 2011/12 if the Select Committee is not
equivocal in its report and Government is not explicit in the
White Paper about its importance.
19. We would welcome the Select Committee's consideration
of the impact this allocation makes to social mobility and are
urging Government to endorse this as a priority in the White Paper.
The "In-Attendance" Rule
20. Lord Browne recommended that all full-time students should
be eligible for loans for fees and living costs; and those on
low incomes should be eligible for maintenance grants - this includes
students living at home.
21. Perversely, distance learning students studying at a full-time
rate are not eligible for help with living costs because they
are not deemed to be "in-attendance" at a university.
22. This is due to a clause in the 1962 Education Act. This
ruling may have been pertinent in a pre-internet age, but it is
not relevant to our lives and society today. It is an Act for
a former age.
23. Almost 6,000 OU students study at a full-time rate and
we expect this number to increase. To leave the "in-attendance"
rule unresolved however would create an unnecessary artificial
barrier to those universities offering full-time distance learning
courses.
24. We would encourage the Select Committee to make a judgement
on the relevance of the archaic "in-attendance" rule
and are currently exploring with Government whether it could be
rescinded in the White Paper.
Part-Time Allocation
25. According to a report commissioned by HEFCE, and carried
out by J M Consulting, the costs of supporting part-time students
are 15-44% higher than full-time students.
26. HEFCE recognises these extra costs through an annual earmarked
allocation, of which the OU currently receives £21m per annum.
27. Correctly, BIS stated in their grant letter to HEFCE on
20 December that there continues to be a need "to recognise
that efficient part-time provision may have some additional costs".
28. If a truly mode-blind system is to be realised, the additional
costs that are driven by headcount rather than Full-time Equivalents
(FTEs) should be offset or there will continue to be a disincentive
to provide part-time and flexible learning
29. In considering the future shape of higher education
funding, we would recommend that the Select Committee analyses
the additional costs of head count on part-time higher education;
and are hopeful that the Committee and Government recognise the
importance of ensuring that educational providers are not dissuaded
from offering flexible learning on the grounds of cost.
Implementing effective student number controls
30. The Select Committee will naturally want to consider the
options for controlling student numbers in the future higher education
funding system.
31. In his report, Lord Browne suggested that each year Government
should set a qualifying threshold for loans expressed in terms
of UCAS points and that a separate arrangement should be introduced
to allocate loans to "non-traditional" applicants.
32. We appreciate Lord Browne's recognition that separate
arrangements would be required for students from "non-traditional"
backgrounds, but are concerned that this would introduce further
operational problems and issues of parity between institutions
and modes of study.
33. There is also widespread concern that this model would
prohibit institutional autonomy and lead to students without a
traditional academic background being excluded from participation
in higher education (for example the 85,000 OU students with 1
A-level or less).
34. The strength of our future workforce and economy depends
on people from the broadest range of backgrounds having access
to higher qualifications, and institutions being able to innovate
with a degree of independence.
35. We would be keen for the Select Committee to advocate,
and Government to implement, a model for student numbers control
which: is consistent for all students, regardless of their academic
history; enhances institutional autonomy and promotes quality.
CONCLUSION
36. More than ever before, the nation needs a strong and vibrant
part-time higher education sector to provide the diversity and
flexibility of provision that students necessitate to re-skill;
the economy needs for growth and our society demands for social
mobility.
37. If we build on the encouraging recent reforms in paragraph
nine and positively address the issues in paragraphs 12 to 35,
we are confident that students, the higher education sector and
the nation will be stronger, fairer and better educated.
38. The Open University is committed to engaging constructively
with the widest range of partners to establish a flexible, innovative
and mode-blind higher education sector which enhances quality
and widens participation. We look forward to working with the
BIS Select Committee in this endeavour.
10 March 2011
110
For more information about The Open University please contact
Director of Government Relations, Rajay Naik on 01908 653211 or
at r.d.naik@open.ac.uk. Back
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