Transcript The changing landscape of higher education

The changing landscape of
higher education.
AGCAS Heads Conference 2009
Paul Redmond, University of Liverpool
The Careers Service
1970s – 2009
And the boss
never even saw it coming!
‘Graduates face poorer
prospects.’
Guardian, 4/11/08
‘University of the bleedin'
obvious.’
Sunday Times, 21/12/08
‘Universities fail to woo poor
students.’
Sunday Times, 4/01/09
‘Beware: the circling of
helicopter parents!’
Guardian, 20/08/08
'University degrees won't
guarantee you a good job,'
students told.’
Daily Mail, 26/11/08
‘70 per cent of university
graduates will ‘be girls’ in
seven years.’
Daily Mail, 5/12/08
‘Post-92 snobbery lingers on in new universities.’
THES, 1/01/09
Academics claim universities
are becoming ‘nothing more
than a careers training camp.’
THES, 27/11/08
Health and Safety chiefs
ban graduates from
throwing hats in degree
ceremony.
The Sun
‘For the advancement of
learning and the ennoblement
of mankind.’
Do the Math!
Contributing to the economy
• UK Higher Education makes a substantial contribution to the wealth
of the UK. The rate of return on investment by the Exchequer in
Higher Education students is 11%, and the UK Higher Education
sector’s total contribution to the economy amounts to £45 billion a
year
• UK Higher Education exports are also a valuable source of income to
the UK, worth £3.6 billion to the UK economy.
• The UK spends 1.1% of GDP on Higher Education compared to 2.9%
in the US. Furthermore, 43% of US investment in Higher Education
comes from public sources, amounting to about 1.25% of GDP
compared to only 0.8% in the UK.
(source: UUK evidence to the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee Inquiry on the
Future Sustainability of the Higher Education Sector, January 2007)
m.
No. of students in UK higher education
400,000
Graduates per year
The number of graduate-track jobs advertised by leading
recruiters every year
Applicants to jobs ratio - 2009
A new ‘University Challenge’
• ‘Never have universities been more
important to Britain. They unlock
the talents of students; promote
shared values; extend opportunities
to an increasingly wide range of
people; drive local and national
economic growth; provide a highly
skilled workforce; create innovative
world beating products and
services; create jobs; and support
communities.’ DIUS, 2008
Drivers of institutional change #1
• HEI collaboration, mergers,
franchising;
• Strategic partnerships with
multinationals;
• Government’s agenda on
employability; biblometric research;
widening access; financial
accountability;
• Falling UK demographics:
1,100,000
60 years old
in 2007
900,000
16 years old
in 2007
55 years old
in 2007
700,000
500,000
300,000
1938
1948
1958
1968
1978
1988
UK Age Wave
(Source: Regional Labour Market Intelligence Report, 2007
1998
‘The future size and shape of the higher education sector in the UK: demographic
projections,’ (UUK, February 2008).
Drivers of institutional change #2
• ‘Hard’ competition from
overseas HEIs and private
providers, e.g. Laureate and
Apollo;
• ‘Generation Y’ effect;
• Digitisation;
• VfM and diminishing
‘graduate premium’;
• = Major shift in the
Victorian ‘idea’ of the
university.
How should universities respond?
i.
A well-differentiated brand position and
marketing strategy;
ii. A customer-focused delivery model;
iii. A proactive approach to collaboration and
amalgamation;
iv. Effective governance supported by robust
financial management.
*See: Ernst & Young (2007), ‘The new world order for higher education.’
So, what does this mean for careers
services?
‘We want to see all universities treating
student employability as a core part of their
mission. So we believe it is reasonable to
expect universities to take responsibility for
how their students are prepared for the
world of work.’
(DIUS, 2008).
Report identifies four key
drivers:
• Employability;
• Enterprise;
• Personal development
planning;
• Employer engagement.
Careers services: 5 issues
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
VfM – what does the institution get for its money?
Sustainability, Scalability, Employability;
Competition from private providers;
Competition or collaboration?
What’s the USP?
CONCLUSION:
Distinct or Extinct!
10 Tips for Careers Service managers
#1. “Can the centre hold?” –
Watts, 2008.
#2. Employability –grasp the
tiger by the tail before
somebody else does.
#3. Avoid mental models: one
size never fits all.
#4. Influence, Influence,
Influence.
(Rarely what you do that counts, but what people
think you do)
#5. Know something powerful
that others don’t (tip: LMI)
#6. “Start with the Squeegee Men”
Don’t underestimate the power of small
incremental changes. But remember to tell
people what you’ve achieved.
#7. Don’t benchmark, future-mark.
Henry Ford: “If we’d asked people what they
wanted they would have said ‘faster horses.’”
#8. Get out more.
MBWA (still) Rules
#9. Words matter. Design
matters. Brand matters.
The power of an effective
Communication Strategy.
#10
Opportunityisnowhere
“If you don’t like
change, you’re going to
like irrelevance even
less.”
—General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff. U. S. Army