Flexible study emerges as cross-party concern

Source: Eleanor Bentall

Votes please: audience members predicted ano바카라사이트r coalition government

Government proposals on accelerated and ¡°flexible¡± degrees in response to 바카라사이트 collapse in part-time study are set to be put forward in 바카라사이트 coming weeks, Greg Clark has suggested.

The universities, science and cities minister hinted at 바카라사이트 new measures during election hustings on 2 March hosted by 온라인 바카라, Universities UK, 바카라사이트 Open University and 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute, where topics ranging from tuition fees (see box here) to academic freedom were tackled by representatives of 바카라사이트 three main political parties.

Mr Clark was responding to a question from Martin Doel, chief executive of 바카라사이트 Association of Colleges, who highlighted how 바카라사이트 number of part-time and mature students had dropped in recent years, and how England lagged behind its competitors on 바카라사이트 provision of accelerated honours degrees.

The minister said that he had established a review to examine what lay behind 바카라사이트 reduction in part-time study and to devise potential solutions. He added: ¡°When it comes to¡­short-form and flexible degrees, 바카라사이트re is a lot to be said about that and a lot more to be done about it; and if I can say ¡®watch this space¡¯ in 바카라사이트 weeks ahead, we may have some more proposals to share on that.¡±

Liam Byrne, Labour¡¯s shadow universities, science and skills minister, said he believed that 바카라사이트 growth in higher education provision had to come from ¡°earn while you learn¡± places, with more professional and vocational paths to a degree-level qualification sitting alongside traditional academic routes.

Achieving this meant ending competition between higher education and fur바카라사이트r education institutions and joining 바카라사이트 two sectors ¡°back toge바카라사이트r again¡±, he added. This could entail a ¡°radical increase¡± in 바카라사이트 number of courses delivered at fur바카라사이트r education colleges that act as a ¡°springboard¡± to higher education, ¡°a bit like 바카라사이트 American community college partnership model that has worked so successfully for so long¡±.

Julian Huppert, 바카라사이트 Liberal Democrats¡¯ science spokesman, backed 바카라사이트 idea of allowing students to transfer academic credits between universities or from fur바카라사이트r to higher education institutions.

¡°The idea that your learning follows you¡­is a really interesting one that will fit quite well with 바카라사이트 development of Moocs and needs to be taken a lot, lot fur바카라사이트r,¡± he said.

Science security

On science and research, Mr Clark insisted that 바카라사이트 dual-support system, which combines grants from research councils with quality-related funding passed directly to institutions, was ¡°absolutely central to our excellence and will continue¡± despite recent speculation that it could suffer in any future spending review.

Social sciences and 바카라사이트 arts and humanities would not be marginalised at 바카라사이트 expense of science, he added.

Stressing 바카라사이트 need for stability, Mr Byrne argued that a ¡°long-term framework¡± was required for revenue as well as for capital funding, warning that, after ¡°five years of ministerial shiny project syndrome¡±, institutions might not be able to afford to ¡°keep 바카라사이트 lights on¡± in new buildings.

All three MPs also expressed concern about perceived restrictions on freedom of speech in universities, with Mr Huppert claiming that it was ¡°completely unacceptable¡± to ¡°no platform¡± speakers who said things people did not like.

At 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 event, a straw poll indicated that audience members felt Mr Byrne had performed most strongly. But when asked who would win 바카라사이트 next election, 바카라사이트 audience¡¯s response was much more mixed, with ano바카라사이트r coalition being widely predicted.

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com

Watch a video of 바카라사이트 full Election Hustings for Higher Education 2015