Education: Part-Time Study

Baroness Garden of Frognal Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2013 Grand Committee

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

My Lords, I, too, am most grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, for the opportunity to consider this important subject. The UK has a strong tradition of part-time education, encompassing both degree-level study and vocational qualifications. Institutions such as the Open University and Birkbeck, of which the noble Baroness is president and about which she spoke so eloquently, are an integral part of our education landscape. They continue to lead the field in the provision of part-time study. Of course, qualifications provide a public recognition of achievement at the end of that study.

In higher education the Government have made significant progress in creating a flexible, dynamic system that offers students maximum choice in where, when and how they study. Our reforms have delivered a sustainable funding model as well as a renewed focus on teaching excellence and student choice. We have introduced more financial support for students and graduates and we have made a strong commitment to social mobility. UCAS data show that entry rates for disadvantaged 18 year-olds reached a new high for England in 2012.

However, we recognise that the fall in part-time entrants is a cause for concern and I share with the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, my noble friend’s dramatic analogy that we are losing a Basingstoke in this—and I am sure that none of us would wish to lose Basingstoke. We are working with the sector to explore the reasons for the decline but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick, pointed out, it is very difficult to talk of a “group” of part-time students because of their very wide diversity.

Higher education is an excellent long-term investment and one of the best routes to a rewarding career. The desire to study at university remains strong. For 2013 the application rate for 18 year-olds from England is at 35.5%, the second highest on record. I have also heard the comments, from around this Room and elsewhere, that young people are often not offered valid alternatives to full-time higher education, and more needs to be done in careers information advice and guidance to point out that there are alternatives to three years of full-time university. We recently had a week concentrating on apprentices. I have been out to visit some, and it was quite interesting to hear how many of them were saying that their parents and schools objected when they said, “What we want to do is an apprenticeship”. We need alternatives to those three years at university. It seems essential to me that we beef up all those opportunities when young people are leaving school particularly.

Research clearly illustrates that, even in these difficult economic conditions, the average net lifetime earnings benefit for those with a degree compared to those with just A-levels is comfortably over £100,000. We recognise that part-time adult education is an important route to higher-level learning and skills. It enables flexible study and plays a significant role in raising and updating the skills and qualifications of people already in employment. My noble friend Lady Sharp mentioned the need for upskilling and reskilling. That is one of the real aspects of the needs of our workforce in these days, and of course part-time study can play a very significant part in that. Research carried out in 2012 demonstrated the positive effects of part-time higher education for individuals, employers and the wider economy. It found that part-time study boosts economic, cultural and social development, and indeed can transform people’s lives.

The Government are working hard to create a more level playing field for part-time students. I was grateful for the acknowledgement by my noble friends Lady Brinton and Lady Sharp of the attempts to level the playing field by way of funding. As a key plank of our higher education reforms, new part-time students became eligible for non-means-tested tuition fee loans for the first time in 2012, responding to long-standing sector demand. This has significantly increased the number of students eligible for government support, but what we have to ask is why that is not reflected in the number of students actually taking it up. The provisions on the repayments start date for part-time students were made more generous, following representations from this House, but I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, that more clarity over the funding available is imperative.

Unlike for full-time students, the Government have placed no limit on the number of part-time students whom institutions may recruit, so institutions can expand their provision if there is demand from prospective students. Undergraduate part-time entrant numbers have been declining since their peak in 2008-09, the year when the previous Government introduced the equivalent and lower qualifications policy. As the Committee knows, that means that students qualifying for a qualification equivalent to or lower than the one that they already hold are not eligible for student support, and their institution does not receive HEFCE funding in respect of them. Both my noble friend Lady Sharp and the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, flagged up the problems of the ELQ in relation to enabling funding for students who would wish to take part-time funding. We hope that this will be part of the Universities UK review, which we await in October, because it has become a real issue. However, with all these options, we have to consider the priorities and what is affordable within spending limits.

The Government and the sector are working together to explore what more we can do to support part-time study. We need to understand the evidence on the part-time market. HEFCE is monitoring changes in demand and supply. As I have mentioned, Universities UK is undertaking a review which it will publish in October. The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, commented that we do not debate higher education often enough in the Chamber; I am quite sure that that review will give us an opportunity once again to raise this very important subject. We hope that it will encourage the adoption of best practice and offer recommendations to support part-time study.

We are also increasing our efforts to communicate the benefits of higher education and the financial support available to part-time students. Both my noble friend Lady Brinton and the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, mentioned the importance of communication. Our communications activity for 2013 has elements focused specifically on part-time applicants. This includes our student finance tour, which will be visiting further education colleges up and down the country, and digital advertising on key websites visited by prospective applicants, which have already been mentioned.

The Student Loans Company is open for applications for part-time student finance nearly four months earlier than last year. Its partnership with The Student Room provides dedicated information on finance for part-time students. For the first time, the UCAS website carries messages highlighting financial support for part-time study and features a new search tool which lists the Open University’s part-time courses. The next phase of this tool will allow all other members to display their part-time courses on UCAS.com, because, as the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, pointed out, many universities offer part-time provision.

The noble Lord, Lord Rees, and my noble friend Lady Brinton focused on the exciting development of the MOOCs, the massive open online courses. Many UK universities are now developing free online courses that are attracting thousands of new learners. In collaboration with a number of partner universities, the Open University is developing the UK’s first online MOOC platform, FutureLearn, to be launched later this year. I entirely agree with the noble Lord, Lord Rees, that a UK version of this would be an exciting development and mean that we would not always be dependent on what the US is providing—although it is very often a leader in such fields. Opportunities such as these help to facilitate mobility, increase our knowledge economy and support lifelong learning, which, as we know, brings benefit to the country and enriches lives.

My noble friend Lady Sharp mentioned the changes in employment over the years and the fact that people do not now go into one secure job. The chances are that they will change job any number of times and therefore need to upskill and reskill to keep abreast. We were hearing today from employers who find it almost impossible to recruit the number of skilled local employees that they need in spite of the job opportunities being there. Something is definitely not going right in the transition between schools and work.

My noble friend mentioned credit transfers, as did the noble Lord, Lord Rees, and my noble friend Lady Brinton, and transfer between universities, as happens from time to time with some universities in the US and other parts of the world. I remember years ago working on national vocational qualifications for transfer of units there between awarding bodies. It seemed to be relatively straightforward, but I have to say that it was anything but. I also remember, 20-odd years ago, working with universities on possibility for credit transfers. Universities cherish their autonomy. It became increasingly obvious that this would be a very bitty operation and that it was unlikely that we would secure the motivation among all universities to co-operate in that way.

My noble friend Lady Sharp mentioned a possible tax system for employers. We understand that the UUK review will explore ways to incentivise employers to support part-time study—the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick, mentioned this, too—and the Government will carefully consider those recommendations.

The noble Lord, Lord Rees, also mentioned universities setting aside places for second-chance students. We come back to the same problem—universities are in control of their own admissions policies and it is for them to consider applications from all non-traditional applicants. Of course, many universities already consider those with non-traditional qualifications, but that is very far from universal.

The noble Baronesses, Lady Warwick and Lady Bakewell, mentioned the fact that very often part-time study is an attractive option for women. The Government are committed to making higher education accessible for all. There has been tremendous, rapid achievement for women but I note the rather negative connotation that the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick, put upon it. As for higher education supporting access, by 2014 universities are expecting to spend £684.5 million on access, including financial support, outreach and student success. Obviously, the contribution of employers and partnerships between HEIs and local enterprise partnerships will be critical if we are to get the results that we wish.

Our world-class colleges and universities have responded well to the Government’s reforms. There is a new focus on the student experience, greater social mobility and greater flexibility in ways of studying and in funding. According to the World Bank, the funding system is exemplary, and the OECD says that ours is the only sustainable system in Europe. But we have much more to do. We will be working with the sector to monitor the changing demand for part-time study and to promote the opportunities available.

I sincerely thank the noble Baroness for introducing this productive debate. We have much more to discuss but this has certainly started us on the path to ensuring that this remains a high-profile topic. I thank all noble Lords who have made such valuable and incisive contributions.