by Helen Cherns at the HEFCE Conference 2008
April 8, 2008
Universities Secretary urges VCs to go back to school
by Conor Ryan
Much stronger engagement between universities and schools must be a crucial part of the widening participation agenda in the future, universities secretary John Denham told delegates at Warwick today.
Mr Denham had trailed his appearance at Warwick well, with news of a shake-up of Aim Higher to fund 5,500 new student ambassadors at the weekend. Today’s papers heralded a tougher set of powers for the access regulator, OFFA, to monitor what universities are doing on access.
And as Mr Denham reiterated his commitment to 50% participation by young adults – albeit over a longer timescale than the government originally envisaged – he also made clear on the Today programme this morning that he expected much more effort with 13 and 14 year-olds to improve their aspirations of going into higher education than has hitherto been the case.
So Mr Denham’s audience at the HEFCE conference felt they knew what to expect by the time he stood up this lunchtime.
But they got a fascinating speech that went well beyond the trailed announcements. First, Mr Denham made a passionate case for the government’s 50% target linked to what he said was the aspiration of more than half of all families in every social class – including a fast-growing level of aspiration among those with no HE tradition.
And while he repeated the familiar arguments about globalisation, he also pointed out that 45% of young women already enter higher education, compared with perhaps 34% of young men, and much of the target could be achieved by raising the aspirations of young men.
Equally, he pointed out that those for whom WP and access programmes were aimed were not just those from the most disadvantaged youngsters, but the children of the majority of families who were working in jobs like classroom assistants, but had no history of going to university in their own families.
“I worry that too many people think that fair access is about someone else’s children,” he said. “We sell ourselves short if we pretend that this is all it is about.”
Mr Denham said that the ‘consistency of relationships’ between universities and schools, teachers and pupils was what worked best, and he was pleased that 26 institutions were already partnering academies, with 30 in discussions to do so. 59 were linked to trust schools.
The universities secretary said that it was also important that more schools offered students the chance to study three GCSE science subjects, as there was a strong correlation with progress to university among those who did so. With a new entitlement for high achievers in tests at 14, he expected the proportion of schools offering triple science to rise from 27% in 2005 to 50% soon.
Mr Denham was at pains to stress that his proposals for annual reporting of access arrangements should not mean an extra burden on HEIs. But he believed there was a corrosive debate on the subject, and a feeling that “my child is going to lose out no matter how hard they work”. So, the answer was “openness, transparency and accountability” with HEIs publishing their admissions policies, having the means to implement them and assuring themselves they are doing so. “This is not a new burden,” he insisted. “But it will address public confidence.”
This was a carefully argued and measured argument for wider access, one that sought to move the debate from one about poorer families into one that addressed the hopes and aspirations of the mainstream majority. And it was well-received by delegates.
April 8, 2008
Turning the tables
by Conor Ryan
The most heated debate among delegates privately at the HEFCE conference is about league tables. In some countries – such as Germany and Australia – there are official tables in place for universities. But in the UK, the absence of such official data has led newspapers to do their own, with varying results.
So, when new research was published today showing ‘room for improvement’, many vice-chancellors probably felt that this was an understatement. Yet when universities do well in the tables, most are not shy about sharing the results, and there is a realisation that students want objective quality indicators.
The research from the Centre for Higher Education Research and Information (CHERI) at the Open University and Hobsons Research showed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that the tables only reflect what is included in them. And these tend to be reputational factors such as entry qualifications, the number of firsts and 2:1s and Research Assessment Exercise grades, rather than measures of quality. As a result, some produce non-standardised results. But it also found that universities are strongly influenced by the tables, many using them as key performance indicators.
William Locke, Assistant Director at CHERI told the conference that the tables should be updated to reflect social responsibility, environmental impact and online learning, and urged that the tables should allow interactivity to enable people to rank universities by their own priorities.
Line Verbik, Research Manager of Hobsons when the study was compiled, explained how the researchers at examined the impact in six HEIs – they found that league tables had a big impact on institutional behaviour, sometimes helping to set strategic priorities, although there was a reluctance to acknowledge the extent of its impact. Institutions wanted more transparency and more value-added measures.
Ms Verbik said that league tables were used most by young students and those from overseas, though they were only part of the decision-making process. They also influenced academic decisions about which universities they were willing to work in. Alternatives included the German system which grouped institutions rather than individually ranking them, or following the Berlin principles for greater transparency and comparability.
Five tables were analysed for the study – those used for the Sunday Times, Times and Guardian University Guides in the UK and the international studies published by Times Higher Education and Jiao Tong University Institute of Higher Education in Shanghai.
The perversity of some league table findings was highlighted by John Brooks, vice-chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, who said that reputational factors had led a joint architecture course it runs with the University of Manchester to be ranked very differently for each university on one national newspaper’s tables, leading to four times as many applications for the same course to the University of Manchester as to MMU (even though the paper corrected the error online within days).
The researchers urged universities to do more to inform students and the public about the league tables. David Eastwood said that “league tables are here to stay” but HEFCE’s role remained one of compiling data and had no plans to replace commercial league tables.
But, shouldn’t the question for vice-chancellors be not whether league tables should exist – because they can’t be wished away – but how can they collectively develop an authoritative set of measures that avoids many of the pitfalls highlighted in today’s research, as those used in Germany?
April 8, 2008
Developing the HEFCE strategy for 2009-14
Over the year ahead we will be developing a new HEFCE strategy for 2009-14.
We want to involve universities, colleges, and our other stakeholders in this development, to ensure our strategy helps us prepare for and then address the opportunities and challenges hacing us and the higher education sector over the next five years.
We are planning a variety of ways to enable you and others to feed into our strategy development. For example. we are aiming to hold various events in the autumn of 2008 and publish a formal consultation document in early 2009.
We would appreciate any comments and thoughts you may have as we kick off this process of thinking about our direction for 2009-14. It would be helpful if you could consider the questions below and leave comments using the comments facility below.
What will be the different demands placed on higher education by 2014?
In your view, how will the higher education sector have changed by 2014?
In your view, how should the higher education sector have changed by 2014?
April 8, 2008
Student learning through technology
The ‘Google Generation’ – young ‘digital natives’ who make up the bulk of university applicants – make widespread use of social networking tools but don’t believe in technology for technology’s sake and strongly believe in face to face interaction.
These are some of the findings of research commissioned by JISC and undertaken by Ipsos MORI last year which is feeding into an independent committee of inquiry on the changing learner experience.
A session on ‘student learning through technology’ heard from the committee’s chair, Professor Sir David Melville, former Vice Chancellor of Kent University and Chair of Lifelong Learning UK, about the work of the committee. Sir David began by saying that the point of the inquiry, which is backed by the leading education organisations in the UK, is to explore the assumptions of the Google Generation, their ready and quick adoption of new, interactive – or Web 2.0 – technologies, and the impact of these phenomena on higher education.
Web 2.0, said Sir David, ‘is about that part of the web which is defined by those who access the web.’ It is ‘universalizing and globalizing’ student conversations which had previously been local, something that is profoundly changing learning and teaching in all education sectors.
The committee, he continued, includes not only representatives from universities but the commercial sector, student bodies and further education. It hopes to report later this year and will explore not only the impact of social networking on learning and teaching but will also take into account its use in schools, colleges and company training.
Amanda Jefferies of the University of Hertfordshire who is working on the JISC-funded STROLL project, looked at some of the issues faced both by students and by institutions in striving to unlock the potential of the new technologies. ‘Do our learning environments support their aspirations for learning?’ she asked.
Staff development was an important and perhaps neglected issue, suggested one questioner; while students are readily adopting new technologies, persuading staff to do so is proving more difficult. Another asked about the use of spaces such as café and other recreational spaces to support the new broader concept of learning that the adoption of new technologies seemed to presuppose, while another asked about the increasing requirement for open access learning and teaching resources.
The panellists were Malcolm Read, Executive Secretary of JISC, and David Sadler, Head of Networks at the Higher Education Academy, who responded by pointing to JISC- and Academy-funded work, particularly the Benchmarker and Pathfinder programmes and JISC’s Effective Design for Learning publication, which attempted to answer some of these questions. They suggested that if further work was needed in any of these areas, they would be happy to listen to suggestions.
April 8, 2008
A Tale of One City
Despite being the last event on the first day of a busy programme, A Tale of One City produced arguably the most emotive messages of the day. Anglia Ruskin (ARU) and Cambridge Universities highlighted their relationships with two employers, with the first presentation from Specsavers being particularly slick and glossy. However, Paul Carroll from Specsavers spoke warmly and positively of the companies relationship with ARU and showed just how effective HE and business can be together.
Cambridges presentation focussed more on the human element of developing staff through flexible working. During the panel discussion, Amanda Buikenham (sp?) spoke emotionally about how she had been written off at school due to her dyslexia but she now has a thirst to achieve and wants to do a full degree. Lyn Rose explained how she can empathasise with her two daughters, who are both at university. Both projects demonstrated a commitment to providing alternative access to HE and the session highlighted what a positive differene education can make to someones life. Hopefully it will have reminded the delegates just how vital their work is and that they should strive to provide further channels for learning and development. After all, this type of employer engagement activity may well be the future of HE.
April 8, 2008
Youthful charm and energy wins out over statesmanlike experience
Youthful charm and energy narrowly won out over statesmanlike experience when the Dragons’ Den came to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) today. [Monday]
As one of five “contestants” trying to sell their ideas for investment to an audience of sceptical vice-chancellors, Gemma Tumelty, president of the National Union of Students got a much friendlier reception than the one she endured at her national conference in Blackpool the week before when her reform plans were narrowly defeated amidst uproar.
It seems that compared to student representatives VCs are pussycats – or at least a lot more polite – and they warmed to her scheme for a pilot project to tap into the student voice.
Was it the price – a mere £60,000 – that clinched it for Ms Tumelty when the audience pressed the voting buttons on their palmheld devices? After all the university audience had just listened to David Eastwood, chief executive of Hefce, outline the prospects for the next few years, a message that could have been summed up as “bad times are just around the corner”.
Or was it her shrewd promise that her scheme would boost their scores in the National Student Survey?
Lord Dearing ran her close though, with an impressively youthful display of energy and passion himself, as he put out a begging bowl for £50m to improve students’ communication skills and turn them into entrepreneurs.
Humanities and traditional subjects could do this just as well as vocational ones, he said, rounding fiercely on Michael Brown, VC of Liverpool John Moores when he suggested this was being done already. His
23% of the vote was just behind Ms Tumelty’s 29%.
Also on 23% was Ann Finlayson, of the Sustainable Development Commission, with her plea for action research to get students involved in the struggle for sustainability. She proposed an “action competence certificate” for every student to recognise the work they would do in the community or schools. A brilliant idea, commented David Green, VC of Worcester, but let’s have a better name.
Sir Martin Harris proposed to have dedicated staff and remunerated students working in schools to raise aspirations and tackle the social divide in education which seems to have got worse over the past 50 years. Schools do have dedicated staff raising aspirations and promoting higher education – they’re called teachers, as Ralph Seymour-Jackson, of the Student Loans Company, remarked acidly.
Perhaps curiously, the proposal for a VC-led inquiry into university boards (aka councils) put forward by Patrick Dunne, communications director of 3i group, didn’t get more backing. As things get tougher you’re going to need good boards to help you run your universities, he told them. Were they just
confident that they have good boards already? Or is that more active governors will be exerting uncomfortable pressure to keep them on their toes? Perish the thought.
April 7, 2008
Dragons Den (1)
The conference is nothing if not politically topical. Outgoing National Union Of Students’ President, Gemma Tumelty won the ‘Dragon’s Den’ session with her proposal for a short pilot on mapping the level and impact of student engagement taking place within institutions. Perhaps it was the low cost, high impact approach she took to selling the project to delegates, perhaps that it actually seemed possible, perhaps that it simply is the idea of the moment.
Whatever it was, it was the clear winner over the other proposals. Second place was shared between the development of institution wide schemes for all students to improve their skills and confidence in sustainable development from Ann Finlayson and Lord Dearing – yes, that Lord Dearing – on high level transferable skills. Another topical suggestion, but he aimed his project away from the traditional field of vocational diplomas and employer engagement and towards the humanities environment. Where earlier societies built their development through castles or through manufacturing, he was certain that in the 21st century, higher education will propel society forward.
Not doing as well was the idea from Sir Martin Harris to create a dedicated stream of funding that will support schools in raising the aspirations of young people at schools. Without tapping into all the talent (another topical phrase, no?) none of the other proposals would be possible, maintained Sir Martin. And is it too cynical to be completely unsurprised that the request from Patrick Dunne for all institutions to look at their Court and Council structures received the least support?
April 7, 2008
Student leader triumphs in Dragons’ Den
by Conor Ryan
Student leader Gemma Tumelty emerged triumphant when HEFCE staged its version of the hit TV series Dragons’ Den at its annual conference in Warwick University today.
Ms Tumelty, who as President of the National Union of Students had just presided over her organisation’s national conference in Blackpool last week, won the support of vice-chancellors, HEFCE staff and stakeholders alike for her £60,000 bid to improve the voice of students in higher education.
Her bid attracted a winning 27% of votes, using palmlet technology, narrowly defeating proposals from Lord Dearing for a stronger investment in languages and business skills and from Sustainable Development commissioner Anne Finlayson for more environmental and community opportunities for students.
Her winning proposal was for a regional pilot – which, if successful, could be rolled out nationally – that would map the engagement of students and provide better training for those involved in university and course committees.
Ms Tumelty pointed out that student voice was now high up the national agenda – the government had appointed a minister for students. Investment in her proposition would bring better results for universities and colleges in the National Student Survey, as well as ensuring better engagement by students and a more valuable contribution from them to university life and learning.
“Students are well place to judge the quality of courses,” she added. The pilot would develop networks of students who could share and spread best practice. The mapping process would also help to engage part-time, mature and international students, who tended not to get involved at the moment.
The format for the Dragons’ Den session required each participant to make a five-minute pitch followed by a five-minute interrogation from the audience. At the end of the session, each candidate had one minute to make a final bid for audience support.
Ms Tumelty used her final pitch to allay audience concerns that her proposal would only have small or moderate impact. She said it would improve the effectiveness of students in committees and the extent to which students helped in solving problems. “Students can make the higher education sector even more world class,” she promised.
While the process was just for fun, with Ms Tumelty being presented with a bottle of champagne by HEFCE chair Tim Melville-Ross, the NUS President must be hoping her pitch has been logged by those present for any future real bid.
