Post conference thoughts

The last few weeks have been a busy time for conferences, with the fdf Conference in October followed by the UVAC and C-SAP conferences in November. As I mentioned in my last post, I was particularly looking forward to hearing the contrasting views of the Minister of State for Higher Education, David Lammy MP and his shadow John Hayes MP. Unfortunately due to ministerial business David Lammy was unable to attend – a great shame as it would have been an excellent opportunity for the minister to talk with the people who are trying to make the higher skill agenda a reality on a day-to-day basis. The address by John Hayes was long on criticism of current government policy, but rather short on policy proposals to overcome the problems identified. Such is the luxury of opposition.

Party Politics

With the next general election approaching, the parties are getting busy outlining their policies. Whether they will have the funds available to pay for these is of course another matter, but following on from the Liberal Democrats commitment to 10,000 extra university places and 50,000 extra college places for Foundation degrees (see blog entry for 12th September), the Conservatives have also pledged 10,000 additional university places. From their press release there seems to be no mention of additional Foundation Degree places whether college or university based. However, the point that does interest me is that both parties are proposing these as a response to rising levels of youth unemployment in the current downturn. It’s easy to see the short-term political logic of getting people off the unemployment figures, but less clear how this might relate to a longer term skills strategy aimed at addressing the skills needs of the economy.

Perhaps we shall hear more at the forthcoming UVAC conference where both the Minister of State for Higher Education, David Lammy MP and the Shadow Minister John Hayes MP are scheduled to speak.

Lib Dems Call for Big Expansion of FDs

Last week the Lib Dems called for 50,000 more Foundation Degree places to be made available to help tackle unemployment among younger adults. Given that they estimate that around 82,000 students were enrolled on these courses in 2008/09, this is substantial commitment to expand numbers. The focus of the proposal is on the FE sector and the proposal specifically refers to “college based foundation degree places”. It is true that around two-thirds of FD students are taught at Further Education Colleges, but much FD provision (particularly for part-time students) is in the university sector and it is important that this is not overlooked. The Lib Dems also propose to make it easier for FECs to gain Foundation Degree awarding powers individually or collectively. My personal view is that the positive approach of the current government towards extending of awarding should be supported. However, I would fear that the scale of what the Lib Dems propose would put quantity before quality and put at risk the reputation of the sector.

HE in FE: Which way forward?

The TES is reporting that the Ascociation of Colleges have dropped their campaign for a new Bachelor of Vocational Studies degree. I think this is the right decision. Many of us who have been involved with Foundation Degrees over the years know how difficult it has been to establish a new qualification in the minds of the public, employers and colleagues. The Bachelor of Vocational Studies degree might well have faced even greater challenges. There name could easily be confused with BA/BSc courses which they were unlike, while there structure would be similar to exisitng Foundation Degrees (for which colleges can already apply for awarding powers). In addition, the validating 'National Skills University' might have proved to be costly and bureaucratic. Let me emphasise, I have seen excellent examples of higher education delivered in FECs and take the view that they can and should play a greater role in future HE provision. However, I don’t think the Vocational Studies idea was a good one and I’m glad to see that it has been dropped.

Some words of comfort?

David Lammy’s speech to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) is worth a read. The headline message is a defence of the liberal arts within higher education – this being justified on the dual basis that it is both good for the economy and good in itself.

Perhaps the underlying message is ‘don’t fear the swallowing of DIUS by BIS’. Of course, beyond the rhetoric, funding decisions and policy will reveal the real balance of power and priority in the merged department and we will need to wait a little longer to see how that turns out.

For my part, I was interested in the rather traditional conception of higher education that seems to inform the speech. References to “music societies, film clubs, bridge clubs, sports clubs, science clubs, political clubs, voluntary societies, foreign language societies” and the “annual play put on in the German Department” suggest to me a particular type of higher education experience. My hope is that the commitment to a liberal conceptualization of higher education is one that all learners are able to benefit from.

Breaking News

Following the reports from today's reshuffle it appears that:

• DIUS has now been merged into a new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Lord Mandelson is now the Secretary of State in charge of HE

Given the way that things are unfolding in government, I am tempted to think this might have more to do with expediency than strategic policy - but it does mean that HE is now clearly linked to business rather than the rest of education within government. It will be interesting to see if this has any consequences.