Report calls for universities to increase access to the professions

24 Jul 2009

Universities should recruit from a wider social group, further education colleges should be able to offer more higher education and it should be easier to accredit modules of higher education says a government-commissioned report published this week.

The report, entitled, Unleashing Aspiration, calls on universities to "play a central role in delivering a second great wave of social mobility in our country" and also welcomes the development of Lifelong Learning Networks such as SLN and Foundation Degrees.

Published by the Cabinet Office and based on a study on social mobility led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, the Panel on Fair Access looked at fair access to the professions based on the premise that 9 out of 10 future jobs are likely to be classified as professional and managerial.

Recommendations

Key recommendations for the HE sector include:

• active promotion of flexible entry points to courses throughout the entire year
• development of a transferable credit-based learning system recognising achievement in modular courses
• prioritising investment in e-learning infrastructure
• removing the "artificial and increasingly indefensible division" between part-time and full-time higher education
• incorporation of apprenticeship frameworks into the UCAS points system by 2010
• funding of 3,000 Apprenticeship Scholarships to HE per year rising to 10,000 with the money to come from the Train to Gain budget
• making the concept of "HE within FE" universal across the country to increase opportunities for mature students
• development of a flexible element of professional experience into all HE courses

Flexibility

The report stresses the need for greater flexibility in the way courses are delivered and structured: "while some universities have arrangements in place to accredit individual modules of learning, this is not commonplace: students are typically required to complete full programmes in order to have achievements accredited, and modules are typically not eligible for ... HEFCE funding."

However it acknowledges that this will not be easy saying that "accelerating part-time and remote learning means dismantling a number of barriers" but stresses that the process of integrating vocational and higher education is vital because "the silos that divide [them] are an impediment to social mobility and must be swept away."

Lifelong learning

The Panel praises the development of LLNs and vocational HE qualifications saying that there has been "good progress" citing Foundation Degrees as an example. It also notes that "more than 30 Lifelong Learning Networks have been established. We believe that both innovations are to be welcomed."

Widening participation

The report also questions the value-for-money of current widening participation schemes. "We are not convinced that current widening participation funding (£392 million in the last five years) is necessarily delivering value for money. The cost per additional entrant amounts to almost £10,000."

Milburn and his colleagues, who included Prof Madeleine Atkins, the Vice-Chancellor of Leicester University, urge learners to see the financial benefits of undertaking courses in HE: "the wages of graduates are typically 60% higher than those with no qualifications and graduates typically earn over £160,000 more during their lifetime than nongraduates."

Universities are urged to focus more on student outcomes and suggests "introducing an incentive that is tied to future employment outcomes" as this "would focus universities on readying students for careers, especially in the professions."

The group's recommendations are driven by their prediction that "students in the future will be more mature, more part-time and more vocational in their outlook."

The report can be downloaded at www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/work_areas/accessprofessions.aspx