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Higher education has had an unprecedented
public profile recently. Parliament, government, students,
parents and the media hotly debated the pros and cons
of introducing variable and increased tuition fees.
Even now, after the Higher Education Act 2004 has gone
on to the statute books, this interest in higher education
shows no signs of abating.
Gone are the days when universities were regarded
as ivory towers: today they are big and complex businesses,
playing a fundamental role in the UK’s economy
and society. Today, there are 170 higher education institutions
in the UK with an income of some £15.6bn per annum.
Employing over 300,000 people, universities are often
the major employer in their local area, tailoring some
of their courses to the needs of local businesses.
Higher education is a major engine of economic growth,
and there has been an increasing recognition of the
wider benefits that it brings to the UK. Research conducted
for Universities UK estimated higher education’s
economic contribution to be some £35bn per annum
through direct and “knock-on” effects.
The UK accounts for 4.5% of world spend on science.
With only 1% of the world’s population, the UK
produces 8% of total scientific papers and 13% of the
most highly cited. It wins 10% of internationally-recognised
science prizes and has produced 44 Nobel Prize winners
in the last 50 years. The UK produces 16 research papers
for every $1m invested, compared with the 10 produced
in the US and four in Japan.
Virtually all this research takes place in universities.
There are areas of international research excellence
across the sector, and the UK is undoubtedly a world
leader in scientific research, second only to the US
on most indicators of output and quality. There are
a number of “research-intensive” universities,
usually heavily involved in medical research. Some are
also major international players in other scientific
research and in engineering and technology development.
UK higher education is strong on innovation, with all
universities increasingly active in technology transfer.
British higher education delivers an efficient, focused
experience to its students over a huge range of disciplines,
levels and modes of study. Subjects range from traditional
degrees such as English, Philosophy and Mathematics
to new degrees with a strong vocational focus, such
as Tourism and Leisure Management. As new technologies
emerge, so, too, do new subjects, for example nanotechnology.
All universities offer undergraduate and postgraduate
courses. In 2002/03, there were approximately 1.3 million
students in full-time courses, and almost 860,000 studying
part-time. There were 213,000 international students
and 104,000 students from non-EU countries in UK higher
education institutions.
This is a vital and growing, but volatile, market
for the UK. International students are culturally and
economically important to the UK. They provide significant
geopolitical and cultural benefits, as well as broadening
the educational experience of UK students and ensuring
the diversity of the student body. In addition, fees
from international students bring in a welcome contribution
to universities’ income, and add to the wider
UK economy. A recent study of the global value of education
and training exports calculated that higher education
contributed around £4bn annually to the UK’s
export earnings. In addition, UK universities are international
organisations with long-established links with universities
and other agencies around the world. These links include
research collaborations, academic exchange, student
exchange and consultancy.
In the past 20 years, the UK university sector has
changed out of all recognition, with a rapid expansion
in both the number of students and of universities,
the latter as a result of 1992 government legislation
that enabled the former polytechnics to become universities.
The concept of mass higher education is a fairly recent
phenomenon in the UK, and arguments still rage over
whether the government was right to aim for a target
of 50% participation by 18-to-30-year-olds by 2010.
The UK has also signed the Bologna Agreement, which
commits it – together with 40 other European nations
– to developing a common framework for degree
structures across Europe. This approach will include
credit accumulation and transfer and will be supported
by an overarching qualifications framework, which will
be approved by government ministers in May 2005. This
framework accommodates the range of diverse qualifications
in Europe and, by enhancing transparency, will make
recognition easier and stimulate student and staff mobility
across the European Higher Education Area.
Quality is paramount. The UK has in some ways anticipated
wider European developments. It has its own qualifications
framework and takes care to underpin the same threshold
standards for its degree courses across all institutions,
irrespective of where they are offered. We are developing
our systems of public information to make available
detailed subject-level performance figures including
employment rates for graduates and their satisfaction
scores.
In the UK, students’ first-degree performance
is measured by an “honours classification”
system (first class, upper and lower second class, third
class honours, and pass, that is, nonhonours). In addition,
institutions are increasingly providing transcripts
that show performance in individual modules and larger
assignments, and this will form part of the European
Diploma Supplement, which all our institutions will
soon issue along with the degree certificate.
After the first Bachelors degree, about one in five
students goes on to take a further Masters degree over
a year full-time or, more often than not, part-time.
This is efficient but demanding – the programmes
assume a high level of preparation from the first degree
and/or practical experience and run intensively for
45-60 weeks, usually including a substantial dissertation
that students complete relatively independently. A smaller
number move on to doctorate studies, usually the British
PhD, which is based on the examination of a substantial
thesis that reports the student’s original research.
The PhD is often studied part-time and is typically
completed within three to four years full-time.
Given the scale of its contribution to the modern
knowledge economy, it is perhaps unsurprising that higher
education has moved up the political agenda. However,
much of the recent debate has focused not on the universities’
successes, but on the problems facing the sector as
a result of long-term underfunding. This has arisen
because expansion has not been matched by an appropriate
increase in funding. Between 1989 and 2002, there was
a 37% fall in the public funding that universities receive
for teaching. Student numbers over the same period increased
by 94%.
Universities UK, the membership body representing
all the universities in the United Kingdom, has consistently
stressed that the UK’s future success and ability
to compete internationally, notably with the US, depends
on universities having sufficient resources. It, together
with the Standing Conference of Principals (SCOP, representing
around 40 colleges of higher education) has consistently
put the case for additional public funding. Although
they are partly-funded by the state, the UK’s
universities are self-governing, autonomous bodies with
charitable status. They do not have the freedom enjoyed
by US universities to decide the level of fee they charge
to home and European Union full-time undergraduate students.
Full-time undergraduate students in England, Wales
and Northern Ireland pay an annual tuition fee of £1,150.
This was introduced in 1998 on the recommendation of
a national inquiry into higher education, which established
a principle, accepted by universities and the Labour
government, that it was reasonable to ask all beneficiaries
of higher education – including graduates –
to contribute towards the cost.
The question of adequate funding, however, remains
a key concern for the sector. Universities are actively
building alternative sources of income, from spin-out
companies to endowments built up through charitable
giving. It will take time to grow a culture of giving
in the UK that will enable it to build the substantial
endowment funds enjoyed by some US universities.
In the meantime, however, the next major source of
extra funds will come in 2006, when as a result of the
Higher Education Act 2004, universities will be allowed
to charge up to £3,000 pa for their courses, provided
they satisfy the Director of Fair Access that they have
put robust widening participation plans in place. This
is, for graduates, a “buy now, pay later”
scheme, as the student will only pay after graduation
once their salary reaches £15,000 per annum.
Universities UK supports these changes, which will
bring in much-needed additional income and allow institutions
more flexibility to react to local circumstances. In
fact, variable fees are already paid by the majority
of students, that is, those who are part-time, postgraduate
and overseas students from outside the EU.
The new graduate contribution scheme for full-time
undergraduates is a step towards providing the resources
that UK universities so badly need. Even this, however,
is only part of the solution. It is vital that governments
are sufficiently convinced of the value of universities
so that they continue to provide adequate public funding.
Then, universities will be able to maintain the highest
quality tertiary education and compete effectively on
the international stage.
Business–university collaboration
Knowledge and technology transfer from universities
is seen as a key part of the UK government’s economic
strategy. Contributing to economic growth is known as
the “thirdstream” of university activity
– the two other streams being teaching and research.
Commercialising intellectual property through patenting,
licensing, and “spinningout” new companies
are key elements of universities’ third-stream
activities.
The Lambert Review of business–university collaboration
(2003) commissioned by the government and carried out
by Richard Lambert, former editor of London’s
Financial Times newspaper, recognised the success of
the UK HE sector in reaching out to business, and universities
have continued to build on this success.
The Higher Education Business Interaction Survey 2004,
published in February 2005 by the Higher Education Funding
Council for England (HEFCE), shows that there has been
a significant shift in the way that UK universities
and HE colleges transfer knowledge in engaging with
business, the public sector and the wider community,
with significant increases in consultancy income and
expenditure by companies on research.
It is apparent that the UK’s HE institutions
(HEIs) are establishing stronger commercial links with
the business sector and succeeding in knowledge transfer
activities.
The main findings of the 2004 HEBI survey were:
- The level and quality of interaction between universities
and business have generally increased, with 89% of
HEIs now offering a single enquiry point for business
and 79% helping Small and Medium Enterprises to determine
their needs
- Turning ideas into business is also on the increase,
with the number of patents granted to HEIs up substantially
and new applications up by 26 per cent. There has
also been an increase in the level of employment created
as a direct result of university spin-out companies
Other key findings of the survey include:
- Income generated by consultancy is up by 38% from
last year to £168m regeneration
- Funding to HEIs has increased by 16%
- UK universities created one spin-off firm for every
£17m of research expenditure, compared with
every £60m in the US
Universities UK has welcomed additional funding from
government for links between industry and higher education.
Most of this funding is provided through the Higher
Education Innovation Fund. The outcome of the 2004 Spending
Review in relation to DfES expenditure was announced
on 13 December 2004. The government allocated an additional
£40m over the three years for HEIF. UUK bid for
£140m additional funding for knowledge transfer
over three years.
The Lambert Review also recommended that an additional
£140m was needed to raise HEIF funding to an appropriate
level.)
However, it is essential that funding for knowledge
transfer and links between industry and higher education
is permanent and predictable so that universities are
able to plan long-term development.
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