Universities minister suggests bringing FE and HE under one roof

More students should have the choice to study Higher Education courses at local Further Education colleges, according to David Willetts, Minister of State for universities and science.

As well as significantly cutting costs, Mr Willets argues that bringing HE and FE under one roof will help meet the rising demand for degrees.

“I also believe that this approach could improve social mobility,” he said.

“Success in prestigious, externally-set degrees would boost opportunities for students who cannot move away from home. Studying near one’s home isn’t always the best choice at the moment but if local providers opted for teaching existing highly-regarded degrees, it could improve students employability.”

Many UK FE colleges already offer externally-awarded degrees. The Open University has also seen thousands of students take up its courses from across the UK.

John Stone, chief executive of education charity LSN, believes offering more HE in colleges would mean clearer progression routes from established FE courses, such as NVQs and BTECs, to degrees.

“The establishment and presentation of these progression routes is the key to social mobility within education, and to widening participation amongst the under-represented groups,” said Mr Stone.

“To give an example of how this might work, an engineering apprentice studying at the local FE college, could progress to studying an engineering degree, on a part-time basis, at the same college, once they have completed their Apprenticeship.”

Savings will not just be made on a learner level, but because provision in FE colleges is typically more cost effective than university provision, Mr Stone believes all taxpayers could benefit. The flexibility of FE would also help learners work and study simultaneously.

He continues: “In addition, FE colleges have traditionally placed a much stronger emphasis on the centrality of teaching and learning and they have gained, through long and bitter experience, considerable expertise in providing a wide range of support to students from diverse backgrounds with exceptionally diverse learning needs. The success FE has had in reducing drop-out in recent years contrast strongly with the HE record where this remains something of an Achilles heel.

“So with FE colleges so well placed to offer high-quality degree-level courses, this announcement should be heard as a warning-bell for universities, who for too long have neglected their undergraduates in favour of supporting postgraduates and research activities which generate academic kudos. FE will not have this distraction, and will stay true to its roots of inclusive, supportive, high-quality provision.”

Jason Rainbow

(Pictured: David Willetts, Minister of State for universities and science)