EDU150 Development day
p>This module focusses on educational policy and Visiting Lecturer Dr. David Brockington introduced our PgDip group to current and future thinking around Higher Ed. policy in the UK.
David contextualised this within the unstable environment of HE in which we work asking whether enough consideration is given to staff experience.
A study undertaken at the University of Twente put forward 21 statements in a survey about education in 2025. Key emergent themes were; increasing privatisation, different fee levels for different programs, post 92 Universities merging. Respondents thought that the National Student Survey (NSS) will be the dominant driver of strategy and that regardless of policies to widen participation, access will narrow and we might see £15000 fees in 2025. The study also suggested that Universities will decrease by 20% and private provision will account for around 15% of the market.
We considered the UK government's attitude that Arts and Humanities subjects aren't viewed as value for money as they can't quantify the contribution to the economy. Yet research supports that employers want adaptible, analytical, critical thinkers, skills often developed through creative courses. The money for Universities is currently in international recruitment, but there’s a greater burden on administrators and also restrictive visa implications imposed by the government.
The conversation remndinded me of the excellent
Ivory Tower which documents the impact of increasing fees, marketisation and mass student numbers in US education which we are now seeing happen in the UK