Transcript PDRAG - Oxford Brookes University

Campus Presentations
November 2009
The Broader Context for HE
Janet Beer
Vice Chancellor – Oxford Brookes University
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Student Numbers
Growth over the last 20 years
JNCHES Review
•At least matched by Research Income growth
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Re-dressing 90’s under-funding……
JNCHES Review
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Likely period of Retrenchment
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Cap on student number growth
More conditions for growth in restricted areas
More rigorous funding claw-back
Diversification of non-public funding has flattened-out
Drive for maximising economic benefit from Research Council funding
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UK HEI Income
Funding Council Grants
Full-time Home/Eu Fees
19%
Part-time Home/Eu Fees
2%
38%
16%
2%
Non-Eu domicile HE
fees
Other fees and support
grants
8%
13%
Research grants and
contracts
Endowment and
investment income
Other income
2%
13%
38% income from Funding Council Grants for Teaching
Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency 2008: Resources of Higher Education Institutions, 2006/07.
UUK data (2008).
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Other Challenges:
The Research Excellence Framework (REF)
Proposals Under Consultation
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Far fewer Units of Assessment than the RAE
Expert Panel Structure Changes (Main and Sub Panels)
Greater Standardisation of Criteria between Disciplines
Three Main Elements
1.
2.
3.
Outputs
Impact
Environment
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Other Challenges:
The Funding Review
Structure and Scope
•A team of 7 led by Lord Browne (including 2 VCs but no
student)
•Set to report by Autumn 2010
•The review team is being asked to analyse the challenges
facing higher education and the implications for student
finance
Lord Mandelson described the scope of the review as
examining the “balance of contributions to universities by
taxpayers, students, graduates and employers”
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Other Challenges:
The Funding Review
Difficult Path for Government and Sector
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Cap removal could be very expensive for the public purse if
Student Loans remain at zero interest rate (real terms)
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Continued development of HE provision cannot be achieved
without protecting/growing the unit of resource, for which
conventional funding will not be so forthcoming
There will be three validation criteria for any recommendations:
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Widening Participation - including fair access, the impact of
bursaries, choice, and how to encourage a diversity of models of
learning / provision
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Affordability (both for students and for the public finances)
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Simplification
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Other Challenges:
Pay and Pensions
Brookes Employer Contributions to All Schemes
•Employer contribution cost – ca. £10M (08/09)
•Impact of contribution increase scenarios (% points)
5% - ca. £3M PA increase
10%- ca. £6M PA increase
•Brookes share of pensions deficit attributable to LGPS (as at July 2009)
ca. £76M*
*Subject to fluctuations in the Markets and other conditions at any one time
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Other Challenges:
Quality and Standards
Sector response needed on:
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External examiners
Plagiarism
Grade inflation
Contact hours
Conditions of entry for International Students
Public Information – including NSS
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Approaching a General Election
Making the Case for the Sector
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The Sector has gone a long way to demonstrating what value it
brings to the economy.
HE is a major economic sector in its own right, with a total annual
output of £59bn. It generates over 370,000 jobs directly and
almost as many again indirectly (est. 324,000).
Education, training and skills to ~2.4m students/yr. Almost
350,000 of these students are not domiciled in the UK, with
personal (off-campus) expenditure of £2.3bn (est. 2007/08).
For every £1m of university output a further £1.38m of output
was generated in other sectors of the economy.
Public financing of HE can continue to be seen as an investment
that generates genuine economic well being.
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Approaching a General Election
Making the Case for the Sector
GDP - Input
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In the UK all of this is delivered with public expenditure of 0.8%
of GDP, versus a OECD average of 1%.
GDP – Output
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In 2007/08 universities and international students contributed
over £33bn to UK GDP, equivalent to 2.3% of UK GDP in 2008
Source: UUK report “The impact of universities on the UK economy” and OECD report on HE economic
contribution
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Approaching a General Election
DBIS – The debate on the future of HE
Higher Ambitions – The future of universities in a knowledge economy
Published November 2009.
17 proposals in six over-arching areas
 Fairer access to HE for all that are able
 Further increasing the HE contribution to economic growth
 Strengthen the translation of research capacity into economic impact
 Excellence in service provision, student experience
 Strengthen the societal role of universities (locally and wide world)
 Maintaining excellence under tighter financial constraints
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Approaching a General Election
The Role of HEFCE
How does HEFCE see things?
5 Core Strategic Aims
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Enhancing excellence in learning and teaching
Widening participation and fair access
Employer engagement and skills
Enhancing excellence in research
Enhancing the contribution of HE to the economy and
society
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Longer Term Issues
How might de-regulation of student numbers play out?
The funding dilemma:
No open-ended Government commitment to fund HE student number growth
V
Need to protect and develop the Unit of Resource for HEIs
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Longer Term Issues
What would follow the full or partial de-regulation of student
numbers/funding?
A Mixed State/Open Market conditions for the sector and then:
 Substantial differentiation of individual HEI missions
 More private providers entering (eg BPP)
 More mergers/takeovers/closures
 Issues of quality control of provision
 State supported student loans going with students to private providers
 The sale of institutions with degree awarding powers
 Private providers outside of Law and Finance
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Longer Term Issues
The Future for Sector Bodies
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HEA and QAA functions are under particular scrutiny
How will the sector ensure further enhancements to the Student
Experience?
What will replace the Quality Assurance Framework which is due to come
to an end in 2011?
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Longer Term Issues
Student Diversity - Sunday Times University Guide - 2009
Brookes in Top
20 for both
measures
*
*
*
*
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Longer Term Issues – Student Choices
Chart 1: Reasons for wanting to go to university influenced by
institution type
Q1. What were the main reasons for wanting to go to university? Please indicate your top
three reasons
%
73
76
Total
Russell group
Pre 1992
Post 1992
Other institutions
68
63
62 62
55
53
48
52
49
44
44
38
35 34
34
32
29
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To gain
qualifications
Improve my
Improve my
chances of getting a earning potential
job
For the experience
Base: All first year students (630), Russell Group (143), Pre 1992 (161), Post 1992 (287), Other institutions (38*)
* small base
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Longer Term Issues – Student priorities
Chart 62: Allocation of funding
Q104. Please imagine you have a pot of money to use to improve your university. How would you
allocate it? Please indicate what % you would allocate to each area/ aspect of your university
%
Total
Russell Group
21
23
Pre 1992
21
Post 1992
21
Other institution
11
13
12
10
19
16
11
12
14
16
16
8
6
18
7
11
8
6
18
7
12
9
17
7
12
20
9
13
6
7
8
19
5
18
Teaching
Accommodation
Learning facilities
Other facilities/resources
Student welfare
Crime prevention
Student finance
Staff pay
7
7
Base: All answering section 12 (2407)
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The National Student Forum Recommendations – October 2009
We would like to see all universities and colleges:
•professionalise teaching and learning within the institution
•personalise and differentiate approaches to take account of disabilities,
learning difficulties and learning styles
•increase flexibility in course structures and modes of study
•develop a cross-institutional strategy to enable students to co-design and
manage their learning
•undertake regular reviews of course content and material to ensure
currency and relevance (where appropriate to subject matter)
•ensure a university-wide focus on assessment for, not just of, learning
•review adequacy and accessibility of study resources for number and
range of students
•monitor and formally record students’ broader learning
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Research Challenges
1) RESEARCH EXCELLENCE FRAMEWORK
Research excellence, wherever found
Selective submissions: extended individual circumstances;
Assessment by UoA panels (30; 4 main panels?)
Quality profile:
• 60% outputs (3 or 4); citations where appropriate;
• 25% impact (relevance to users) over 10-15 years(?); case studies
(1 per 5/10 FTE?); UoA statement; ‘reach’ and ‘depth’;
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15% environment: structure, management, research income, PGR
training, critical mass(?), external engagement.
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2) EXTERNAL RESEARCH FUNDING
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Considerably reduced success rates (down to 10/14%)
RC requirement for:
impact statements
greater stakeholder involvement
Increasing emphasis on inter- and multidisciplinary applications
3) RESEARCH STUDENTS
Increased competition: the need to provide distinctive programmes
Doctoral Training Centres and Doctoral Training Units
Government review of research student education
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Main implications
Increased importance of:
• Impact of research
• External partnerships/collaborations with public,
private and third sector and with other HEIs
• Multi and interdisciplinary research
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White Paper
Research section seeks to speak to these challenges and to strengthen
our reputation for research excellence .
The key elements can be identified as:
• Strengthening disciplines (UoAs) which demonstrate research
excellence;
• Facilitating and supporting inter-/multidisciplinary research;
• Increasing external research income;
• Linking research and kt/enterprise activities more closely;
• Ensuring the University’s infrastructure supports research.
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