University in need of repair

Roy Bowdler:
As I was driving to work yesterday there was a report on the radio stating that “at least three UK Universities were at risk of bankruptcy”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46059457 . It didn’t seem that the OU was one of these, but It seems that there is a pattern, where more highly ranked universities are competing for students by accepting 18 year olds with lower A level examination results than previously, responding to a demographic decline in that age group and restrictions on overseas students. Others seen as less “prestigious” or in less attractive locations, or located close to a stronger competitor, are struggling to compete and losing income. 

It's called market saturation. In many businesses initially there are a limited number of players but when demand exceeds supply then more players jump on the bandwagon to the point where every man and his dog wants a piece of the pie. This results in market saturation where supply exceeds demand so weaker players are often driven out of business or taken over.

A potential solution, especially for long-established former Polytechnics is to do what many of them always did extremely well, support the needs of employers in their region or as a specialist centres of excellence in particular industries. A large proportion of this market is part-time, often supported by employers, or full-time students who weren’t so successful in the school system, but subsequently gather momentum perhaps through college, often showing good potential once they find a pathway and developing successful careers. A good proportion of Engineers and Technicians fall into this category and the majority were prepared through college and pre-1992 Polytechnics, now Universities.

The problem with this is that former polytechnics have moved away from traditional subjects towards soft subjects and popular subjects. A polytechnic that centres on degree courses like social work, psychology, or law for students that don't have GCSEs and A Levels isn't likely to invest in facilities for engineering unless there is a clear return on that investment.

This isn’t the best place for a public policy debate about higher education generally, although it has become in recent decades one of our most important “industries”. However, in the context of developing Engineers and Technicians, any further diminution of part-time vocational programmes, closely linked to employment skills could be catastrophic.  A market favouring those universities who are most successful in attracting 18 year old full-time undergraduate students , may seem to be  a rational one. However, if this means that an employed person cannot readily access appropriate higher education, at a price that offers a likely positive return on investment, then there are many potentially damaging consequences.

Take into account that a high proportion of students studying engineering at the more prestigious universities are overseas students as these are what brings in the money. In contrast, a high proportion of students studying soft and popular subjects at former polytechnics are home students. There could be much truth that the HE setup for engineering in Britain is for overseas students and home students come second. Therefore if polytechnics start offering part time vocational courses, often supported by employers, then these will be almost exclusively for home students. I think that the shift away from home students to overseas students in engineering at HE over the past few decades is a factor that nobody who wishes to formulate future policy and strategies in STEM education can afford to ignore.

Roy Bowdler:
As I was driving to work yesterday there was a report on the radio stating that “at least three UK Universities were at risk of bankruptcy”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46059457 . It didn’t seem that the OU was one of these, but It seems that there is a pattern, where more highly ranked universities are competing for students by accepting 18 year olds with lower A level examination results than previously, responding to a demographic decline in that age group and restrictions on overseas students. Others seen as less “prestigious” or in less attractive locations, or located close to a stronger competitor, are struggling to compete and losing income. 

It's called market saturation. In many businesses initially there are a limited number of players but when demand exceeds supply then more players jump on the bandwagon to the point where every man and his dog wants a piece of the pie. This results in market saturation where supply exceeds demand so weaker players are often driven out of business or taken over.

A potential solution, especially for long-established former Polytechnics is to do what many of them always did extremely well, support the needs of employers in their region or as a specialist centres of excellence in particular industries. A large proportion of this market is part-time, often supported by employers, or full-time students who weren’t so successful in the school system, but subsequently gather momentum perhaps through college, often showing good potential once they find a pathway and developing successful careers. A good proportion of Engineers and Technicians fall into this category and the majority were prepared through college and pre-1992 Polytechnics, now Universities.

The problem with this is that former polytechnics have moved away from traditional subjects towards soft subjects and popular subjects. A polytechnic that centres on degree courses like social work, psychology, or law for students that don't have GCSEs and A Levels isn't likely to invest in facilities for engineering unless there is a clear return on that investment.

This isn’t the best place for a public policy debate about higher education generally, although it has become in recent decades one of our most important “industries”. However, in the context of developing Engineers and Technicians, any further diminution of part-time vocational programmes, closely linked to employment skills could be catastrophic.  A market favouring those universities who are most successful in attracting 18 year old full-time undergraduate students , may seem to be  a rational one. However, if this means that an employed person cannot readily access appropriate higher education, at a price that offers a likely positive return on investment, then there are many potentially damaging consequences.

Take into account that a high proportion of students studying engineering at the more prestigious universities are overseas students as these are what brings in the money. In contrast, a high proportion of students studying soft and popular subjects at former polytechnics are home students. There could be much truth that the HE setup for engineering in Britain is for overseas students and home students come second. Therefore if polytechnics start offering part time vocational courses, often supported by employers, then these will be almost exclusively for home students. I think that the shift away from home students to overseas students in engineering at HE over the past few decades is a factor that nobody who wishes to formulate future policy and strategies in STEM education can afford to ignore.