Issues Facing Higher Education Today

1. Issues Facing Higher Education Today Robin Wilson and Mark Symington

2. Learning Outcomes • Define Higher Education (HE) • Evaluate the Impact The Border Agency Can Have on Numbers Enrolling onto HE Courses • Explain how the Numbers of Learners Coming to HE has Fluctuated • Evaluate the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the HE Tuition Fee Legislation

3. What We Will Cover Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 The main issues affecting Higher Education (HE) are The Rising Cost of Higher EducationWith Universities charging more is it worth the money? The Border AgencyMany HE learners are from overseas and pay full fees The Future of Higher EducationWhat does the future hold? Applications to Higher Education CoursesDo the increased fees and uncertain marketplace deter them or make them more resilient? Issue 4

4. Higher Education • What do you think of when you hear the term Higher Education? • Answers on mini-whiteboards 2 mins

5. The Rising Cost of Higher Education

6. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • Higher education is an optional final stage of learning • It is delivered at universities, academies, colleges and technology institutes • At the college, some HE provision is directly run by the college (Direct HE) whilst other provision is run by Sunderland University but delivered at other locations (franchised out) such as the PGCE course we are completing

7. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • The UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 declares, in Article 13, that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all“ • Has this happened? • What might stop HE being accessible to all? • Discuss in groups… 2 mins

8. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • No this has not happened • HE is only there if you can afford it • Prices have increased significantly so the problem is only getting worse • Anyone with a degree does not have access to a loan to retrain or up skill. This makes it difficult to cover the upfront tuition fee • Also is there a job for you if you sell your soul to pay for it all? • Do you know how much the fees have increased? • Answers on mini-whiteboards…

9. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • Per Year From £3,290 Up To £9,000

10. 2012 Changes in Funding for Universities • Students have to meet most if not all of the costs for their courses – up to £9,000 per year • Able to access publically funded loans to borrow the money from the Student Loans Company (SLC) • Changes to the rules on how many students a university can recruit to increase student choice • http://www.hefce.ac.uk/about/intro/abouthighereducationinengland/impact/

11. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • Dr Alan White, director of University of East London's graduate school • I am very, very, angry about the tuition fees debacle. Higher education can be a great motor for social and cultural change and social mobility. I am from an east London working-class family. I was the first member of my extended family to study for a degree. This was in 1976. Would I give up a job now, as I did then, to study sociology? I have to say, almost certainly not. I would also not have gone on to study for a PhD and would not now be in my current job. • http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/mar/28/university-tuition-fees-no-need-public-cost(28/03/2014)

12. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • This has not really happened: • We believe that everyone should have an equal right, during a formative period of their lives, to pursue their own interests for their own sake. The ability to exercise this right should not be filtered by wealth and privilege, or be determined by the current priorities of the labour market. • http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/21/education-right-for-all (21/03/2014) • This was agreed by a body of people consisting of teaching staff and management staff at various universities around the UK • They call on the government to move back to the not for profit sector

13. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • Colleges are being run more like businesses where they adapt to deliver the courses which attract the most funding • The government has two funding bodies (Education Funding Authority and the Skills Funding Authority) via which it dictates what courses the different colleges around the country offer by directing the funding to certain areas. TyneMet College is currently 87% public funded and the college states this is very high and they want to reduce this in the future (source: Jon Vincent – Principal @ TyneMet) • Funding is being reduced all the time meaning that providers need to go off in search of other sources of revenue and form links with local businesses

14. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • Student tuition fees have trebled in recent years • Who is all this money going to? • Has someone somewhere become extremely rich out of fees debacle? • Discuss in groups… 2 mins

15. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • The new fees system may end up costing the state as much as the system it replaced in 2012! • The proportion of unpaid loans is approaching a critical level as write-offs are on track to pass the gains from tripling of fees • The proportion of graduates failing to pay back student loans is increasing at such a rate that the Treasury is approaching the point at which it will get zero financial reward from the government's policy of tripling tuition fees to £9,000 a year. • http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/mar/28/university-tuition-fees-no-need-public-cost (21/03/2014)

16. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • The universities minister, David Willetts, speaking in response to a parliamentary question from the shadow education minister, Liam Byrne, confirmed that the write-off figure – the resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) charge – is rapidly approaching the 48.6% mark. • This is the threshold at which experts calculate that the government will lose more money than it would have saved by keeping the old £3,000 tuition fee system. • It seems there are only losers and no winners!

17. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • Given all this money are the universities at least financially sound and not in financial difficulties? • Are they still in a position to offer students the best possible experience and value for money with the increased cost? 2 mins

18. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • It would seem not! • Lower government funding will hit university teaching budgets in England: Students' union fears erosion of quality as Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) reveals 2014-15 allocation • Universities have been forced to slash their teaching budgets in order to protect research funds in a move that the head of the university funding agency has admitted "will hurt". • The National Union of Students (NUS) said the move would erode the quality of a university education. • http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/26/lower-government-funding-university-teaching-england (26/03/2014)

19. The Rising Cost of Higher Education • So like with most things in the modern and developed world: • Pay more and get less | Buy two and get one If it looks too good to be true it probably is!

20. The UK Border Agency

21. The UK Border Agency Traditionally the universities received most of their funding from overseas learners who have always paid full fees but if changes to immigration affect the numbers of learners coming into the country, this could severely impact universities. The Border Agency published new rules and regulations in 2009 to try to limit learners who come to the country on the premise of studying an HE course who then disappear into the “system”. It is now harder for legitimate learners to come into the country due to a lot of additional checks http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/sep/04/ukba-student-visa-rules

22. The UK Border Agency More Abuse of the System The new system removed manual checks and introduced a new points based system, under which it was the sponsoring institution that had the responsibility of deciding if applicants comply with the visa conditions In 2009 the number of migrants who abused the student route to work rather than study went up by as much as 40,000 to 50,000 People argue that it is harder to come here to study but easier to come here to work illegally London Metropolitan University fell foul of the new regulations and had its power to teach or recruit non-EU students revoked, leaving many facing deportation if they could not find another sponsor within 90 days. This makes up 1/5th of the university’s student population. It held the status of highly trusted before this

23. The UK Border Agency Shifting the Onus Away from UKBA An immigration bill was passed last year which is due to come into effect next month (April 2014) which will impose further restrictions such as requiring landlords to check the status of all tenants with fines of up to £3,000 for every person who does not have the correct paperwork The UKBA are shifting the onus onto universities and landlords and then imposing severe penalties if anyone falls foul of the rules. The universities are complaining that it is not their job to secure the borders and once the new rules come into effect next month will this cause landlords to be less amenable to accepting overseas learners due to the extra administrative burden or risk of a fine?

24. The UK Border Agency • It is important for learners to be processed quickly so they can come into the country safe in the knowledge that they are there legally and can begin their studies. • How long do you think it takes the UKBA to process student visas? • Answers on mini-whiteboards… 2 mins

25. The UK Border Agency Visa Delays The answer – A Long Time! Overseas learners are facing long delays getting their visas processed and their documents returned. One learner completing a masters course was still waiting after 5 months unable to find out what was happening. She said “Even if you order a pizza from Domino's you can track its progress - but I've no idea about what's happening to my passport.” Another learner said that students could not apply for jobs in the UK because they had no proof of their right to be in the country - and they could not go abroad or return home for work because they had no passports to travel. These learners are stuck in limbo, without the right to stay or go back home whilst they wait for their visas. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18888210

26. Applications to Higher Education Courses

27. Applications to Higher Education Courses Text The coalition’s controversial education reforms have led to a ‘clear drop’ in students applying for university places. The reforms caused 15,000 fewer applications for HE courses with fees as high as £9,000 per year. This equates to around 1 in 20 learners who would have been expected to apply but did not. There was already a drop of 7.2% of applicants the previous year. The increase in tuition fees in 2012 has exacerbated the problem. Only England has experienced a drop in applications. Other parts of the UK have not experienced this shortfall. The high fees are in stark contrast to Scotland where students pay no fees at all with everything provided free. http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/aug/09/tuition-fees-increase-15000-less-applicants

28. Applications to HE Numbers of learners in HE Look at the table and sequence the data from the different years based on what you think is correct 5 mins

29. Applications to HE Numbers of learners in HE Look at the table and sequence the data from the different years based on what you think is correct 5 mins

30. Applications to HE Numbers of learners in HE • Now you have the answer what does that tell you about the numbers? • Discuss…

31. Stats from HESA Numbers of learners in HE This data was taken from HESA, The Higher Education Statistics Agency showing the number of UK, EU and overseas learners entering Higher Education The numbers of Non EU learners in HE continues to rise despite the issues faced whilst the numbers of UK and EU learners has fluctuated and dropped significantly in the year 2012/13 Results have not yet been published for 2013/14 http://www.hesa.ac.uk/

32. The Future of HE

33. The Future of HE • What does the future hold for Higher Education? • Will things improve? • Discuss…

34. The Future of HE • Looking forward we have • Rising tuition fees • Lower teaching budgets • Greater international competition • Higher prices on everything else so we have less money anyway! • Shortage of skilled teachers with higher cost of becoming skilled • No loan to help people retrain or up skill and progress to higher levels of education • No guarantee of employment • Tighter controls on international learners entering the country • Onus shifting away from the border agency to control the borders

35. The Future of HE • Maybe the answer is to emigrate! • Any Questions?

36. What Have We Covered Today • What have we covered today? • Discuss…

37. Thank You • Pick one thing you will take away from this session on your mini-whiteboards…

38. The End

39. References Used All Sources of Information Used in This Presentation • Impact of 2012 Changes http://www.hefce.ac.uk/about/intro/abouthighereducationinengland/impact/ • Cost of HE: http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/mar/28/university-tuition-fees-no-need-public-cost • Right to Education: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/21/education-right-for-all • University Funding Cuts: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/26/lower-government-funding-university-teaching-england • Student Visa Checks: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/sep/04/ukba-student-visa-rules • Visa Delays: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18888210 • Applicants to HE: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/aug/09/tuition-fees-increase-15000-less-applicants • Student Numbers Data: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/ • Principal @ TyneMet College: Jon Vincent