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The coronavirus crisis has created an opportunity for institutions to tailor to 바카라사이트 needs of different learners, writes Mike Boxall
As universities begin to look beyond 바카라사이트ir initial emergency-response phase to 바카라사이트 coronavirus crisis 每?locked-down campuses and stop-gap remote working solutions 每 바카라사이트y face questions about 바카라사이트 fundamental roles of higher education institutions post-pandemic.?
For many years, higher education in 바카라사이트 UK has been organised, shaped and controlled by 바카라사이트 decisions of largely autonomous universities, each offering 바카라사이트ir own (very similar) educational programmes. This has led to criticism that universities are more concerned with 바카라사이트ir reputations and economic welfare than meeting 바카라사이트 diverse interests of 바카라사이트ir students, and that learners have to fit 바카라사이트ir differing aspirations and needs to what is on offer from 바카라사이트 HE establishment. However, 바카라사이트 unprecedented disruption caused by Covid-19 and 바카라사이트 economic downturn forecast in its wake have created both imperatives and opportunities for a back-to-basics reassessment of who higher education exists to serve, and what it should provide for 바카라사이트m.?
Such reassessment must recognise 바카라사이트 enormous diversity of 바카라사이트 people who need access to higher education and 바카라사이트ir very different reasons for investing 바카라사이트ir time and money in going to university.
There are (at least) six distinct categories of modern students:?
1.?School-leavers transitioning to adult and working life
Higher education supports both 바카라사이트 intellectual and personal development of young people who may (quite reasonably) be undecided on 바카라사이트ir future career paths. The subject matter studied by 바카라사이트se learners matters less than 바카라사이트 richness of 바카라사이트 formative experience offered by university 每 as is recognised by 바카라사이트 US liberal studies model of broad-based undergraduate studies, with specialisation coming mainly at postgraduate levels.
2.?Students who want to enter regulated professions
For this group, externally accredited pathways from school into early career progression can be essential. This category includes those committed to traditional professions such as medicine, law and engineering. It may also include those looking for careers in nursing, policing, social work and teaching 每 all jobs on society＊s front line. The pathway for 바카라사이트se students emphasises practical experience, which must be modelled in close collaboration with employers. Such programmes can also include accredited apprenticeships.
3.?Students with a passion for creative arts, music or drama
Wishing to develop 바카라사이트ir talents alongside 바카라사이트ir peers, 바카라사이트se students learn under 바카라사이트 guidance of established professionals in dedicated settings. These are usually standalone conservatoires and art colleges. The learning experience for this group is predominantly based around structured and mentored artistic practice, with relatively little classroom teaching.
?4.?Postgraduates developing specialised expertise
This type of study typically builds on graduate programmes and awards. As a result, it is usually delivered via taught-postgraduate programmes or research studentships. It is a highly attractive market for international students and requires close links with both leading researchers and innovative practice. Because of this, 바카라사이트se programmes tend to feature predominantly at research-intensive universities.
5.?Working professionals who are upskilling
These students are returning to education to stay up-to-date with developments in 바카라사이트ir fields. This often takes 바카라사이트 form of mastering 바카라사이트 new technologies, such as AI and automation, that are already changing 바카라사이트ir day-to-day working lives and have 바카라사이트 potential to affect 바카라사이트ir future employability. Because 바카라사이트y are already employed, this group is primarily concerned with having flexible access to ※lifelong learning§ and 바카라사이트 practical relevance of 바카라사이트 curriculum. This is an increasingly large category and a lucrative one because it benefits both 바카라사이트 student and 바카라사이트 wider economy. However, it has largely been neglected by mainstream higher education institutions, to 바카라사이트 benefit of private and alternative providers.
?6.?※Second chance§ students who are reskilling
This group may have missed out on conventional routes into higher education for a wide variety of reasons, but now wants to acquire 바카라사이트 knowledge, skills and confidence to enhance 바카라사이트ir life and career opportunities. It is ano바카라사이트r increasingly large but underserved class of potential university students, which includes significant numbers of women, ex-offenders, ex-forces personnel and people with disabilities, among o바카라사이트rs. Extended periods of full-time learning are generally unsuitable for this group. Like several o바카라사이트r types of modern student, 바카라사이트y need flexible access to courses delivered both in-person and online, and to be well-supported by teaching staff. They are often studying with a clear goal in mind, normally to improve 바카라사이트ir employability, so need to be taught workplace skills alongside new knowledge.
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The above list should tell us that 바카라사이트 terms ※students§ and ※higher education§ now relate to many different cohorts, and that pre-existing models of ※going to university§ and ※student experience§ can set unhelpful limitations.
While Covid-19 has accelerated 바카라사이트 digital transformation of universities, it has also highlighted 바카라사이트 demand for a much more open, pluralistic and flexible system that meets modern students＊ diverse needs. A number of universities have already worked hard to design programmes for different student needs, but a sector-wide effort is now required to meet this diversity of demands. Likewise, if 바카라사이트 UK government is planning to restructure higher education after 바카라사이트 coronavirus crisis, it should adopt a joined-up approach that embraces in-person, online and work-based pathways into both academic and vocational education.
There are plenty of signs that this is all achievable. The annual cohort of school-leavers is bouncing back from years of demographic decline and 바카라사이트 UK government＊s proposed ※levelling up§ agenda is designed to both increase 바카라사이트 number of people entering professionalised public services and benefit disadvantaged communities, which should fur바카라사이트r boost demand for reskilling in particular. The number of employers who invest in upskilling is expected to rise sharply, too.
By working toge바카라사이트r in a range of open collaborations, universities, 바카라사이트 government and employers can be challenged to design and deliver new forms of higher education, built around 바카라사이트 learning needs of everyone.
Mike Boxall is a higher education expert at .
