the business of higher education in further education institutions jennifer allen candidate for...
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THE ‘BUSINESS’ OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN FURTHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Jennifer AllenCandidate for Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of EducationUniversity of [email protected]
CURRENTLY…
Source: Cham (2010)
OUTLINE
The HE in FE landscape Effect of the landscape on research
Research to date A few initial findings
WARNING: ACRONYMS AHEAD
HEIs higher education institutions universities
FEIs further education institutions all institutions in the English further education sector
THE HE IN FE LANDSCAPE
DEFINING HE IN FE
HE in FE: Degree-level courses which are taught wholly or
partially in further education institutions
(FEIs).
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
What strikes an outsider—perhaps an American especially—is the enormous gulf that exists between further and
higher education in Britain (Trow, 1987: 219).
2011 WHITE PAPER
‘Our reforms are designed to deliver a more responsive higher education sector in which funding follows the decisions of
learners…in which further education colleges…are encouraged to offer a diverse range of higher education
provision’ (GBDBIS, 2011: 8).
THE ENGLISH ARGUMENT
All higher education takes place at universities.
All degrees are higher education. Therefore, all degrees take place at universities.
OFFERING HE IN FE
Franchise model: HEIs register students and ‘franchise’ them to FEIs
Direct funding model: HEFCE gives FEIs funding to support HE
For both models, university validates degree
Student graduates with university degree (sometimes without going to the university)
THE NUMBERS
Source: Parry et al., 2012: 12
THE NUMBERS
Source: HEFCE, 2011
THE NUMBERS
Sources: Parry et al., 2012: 12 and HESA, 2012
LEADING TO…
‘…a high degree of complexity in a relatively small segment of the
higher education system’ (Parry et al., 2012: 23).
EFFECT OF LANDSCAPE
Complexity of provision Political dynamics in access
arrangements Lack of data
RESEARCH TO DATE
THE KEY QUESTION
Does the location of HE matter to and for the
students?
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What factors influence students’ decisions about where to pursue HE (i.e. at an FEI or university)?
How does the HE student experience compare between FEIs and universities?
Are the employment outcomes of FEI graduates different from university graduates? If so, in what ways are they different?
How do the employment outcomes of HE graduates within six months after graduation compare with their expectations?
SIMPLIFIED
Decisions Experiences Employment expectations Employment outcomes
RESEARCH DESIGN
2 universities and 4 colleges Two regions of England Final year (BA) undergraduate business
students Questionnaire (N=1,457) and interviews
(N=48) Interviews are pre- and post-graduation
DECISIONS
Cheaper Local (easy to get to) Flexible schedule Supportive environment Provide university degrees
DECISIONS
‘[It’s] cheap…I would’ve chosen business in any other university, however I would say I’m pleased with choosing this college itself, of course with its relation with [the university]. I wouldn’t want as, as a person to have just a degree which says [the college’s name]. No disrespect to [the college], however, it’s the market. There is a competition—people with degrees from different universities and master’s and there’s no jobs. So I would like at least my qualification to be certified by a university’.
30-year-old college student
EXPERIENCES
Very well supported Close with tutors and course mates Lacking in resources Generalised course structure Varied teaching style
EXPERIENCES
‘…we’re doing a higher education course in a primarily FE college—further education college—and I think there’s, there’s no clear divide of the two. So, you know, some days you’ll be spoon fed everything like…an A-Level student…and then other days, from the same person, you’ll be told that “Oh, we don’t offer any assistance—it’s all independent study”. There’s no, no constant with it’.
24-year-old college student
EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS
Graduate schemes ‘I want to be happy and have a comfortable
lifestyle.’ ‘I want a career rather than “just” a job.’ ‘I’ll be happy to even get a job.’
EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS
‘…my main aim is really just to have a job…’cos I know how hard it is recently to get—people out of employment and stuff…even if it’s not in what I want to do, at least I’m gonna have something until something comes up which is more what I want to do…money’s money…I wouldn’t mind going and working at one of the shops here—the retail shops, the clothes shops—it’s a job’.
20-year-old college student
EMPLOYMENT EXPECTATIONS
Source: Share (2012)
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
REFERENCES
Cham, J. (2010) PhD Comics. Available from: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1274 [Accessed 5 February 2010]
Great Britain, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (2011) Students at the Heart of the System. London: The Stationery Office.
Higher Education Funding Council for England (2011) Recurrent grants for 2011-12. Bristol: HEFCE.
Higher Education Statistics Agency (2012) Statistics – Students and qualifiers from UK HE institutions. Available from: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/1897/239 [Accessed 30 March 2012]
Parry, G., Callendar, C., Scott, P., and Temple, P. (2012) Understanding higher education in further education colleges. [Online]. (Research paper number 69). Available from: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/higher-education/docs/u/12-905-understanding-higher-education-in-further-education-colleges.pdf [Accessed 4 July 2012]
Share, J. (2012) JobMob. Available from: http://jobmob.co.il/blog/lessons-never-learned-in-school. [Accessed 31 January 2013]
Trow, M. (1987) Academic standards and mass higher education. Higher Education Quarterly, 41(3), 268-292.