Flexible Learning Pathways in British Higher Education: a Decentralized and Market-Based System
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FLEXIBLE LEARNING PATHWAYS IN BRITISH HIGHER EDUCATION: A DECENTRALIZED AND MARKET-BASED SYSTEM John Brennan Report for the IIEP-UNESCO Research ‘SDG 4: Planning for flexible learning pathways in higher education’ FLEXIBLE LEARNING PATHWAYS IN BRITISH HIGHER EDUCATION: A DECENTRALIZED AND MARKET-BASED SYSTEM Report for the IIEP–UNESCO Research ‘SDG 4: Planning for flexible learning pathways in higher education’ Author’s affiliation John Brennan – Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Research (Open University), Visiting Professor (University of Bath and London School of Economics), and Honorary Research Fellow (University of Oxford) This report was prepared for the IIEP–UNESCO research ‘SDG 4: Planning for flexible Learning Pathways in Higher Education’. The project aims to produce knowledge and provide evidence- based policy advice to ministries of (higher) education, in different development contexts, that are considering building or strengthening flexible learning pathways as an area of reform. It comprises a stocktaking exercise, an international survey, eight in-depth country case studies (Chile, Finland, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Morocco, South Africa, and the UK) and thematic studies. This report is one of the eight in-depth country case studies. UNESCO has attributed to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) the right to publish this report. The views and opinions expressed in this research report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of UNESCO, IIEP or QAA. This study is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this study, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). The present licence applies exclusively to the text content of the study. International Institute for Educational Planning 7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix 75116 Paris Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Southgate House, Southgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 1UB April 2021 © UNESCO 2021 Table of contents List of figures ............................................................................................................................. 5 List of tables ............................................................................................................................... 5 List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 8 Executive summary .................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 2. Overview of the national higher education system ................................................ 16 2.1. The UK higher education sector .................................................................................... 16 2.2. The social context .......................................................................................................... 21 2.3. Governance and key steering instrument ....................................................................... 24 2.4. Finance and funding ...................................................................................................... 27 2.5. A flexible system? ......................................................................................................... 28 2.6. Methodology for the UK case study .............................................................................. 29 Chapter 3. National system-level approaches to support flexible learning pathways .............. 31 3.1. National policy agendas and processes ......................................................................... 32 3.2. Flexible learning pathways: Origins, routes, and destinations ...................................... 38 3.3. Admissions and pathways to higher education .............................................................. 42 3.4. Access and recognition of prior learning ....................................................................... 46 3.4.1. Entry routes into higher education .......................................................................... 46 3.4.2. Further education .................................................................................................... 50 3.4.3. The Access to Higher Education Diploma .............................................................. 51 3.4.4. Open pathways to all ............................................................................................... 53 3.5. National policy issues .................................................................................................... 53 3.6. Articulation and credit transfer ...................................................................................... 55 3.6.1. Crossing educational boundaries ............................................................................ 55 3.6.2. Crossing organizational and sector boundaries ....................................................... 56 3.7. Employer perspectives ................................................................................................... 59 3.8. Part-time learning .......................................................................................................... 61 3.9. Finding the right pathways ............................................................................................ 64 Chapter 4. Flexible learning pathways in practice: Institutional perspectives ......................... 65 4.1. University of Birmingham ............................................................................................. 66 4.1.1. A traditional university with some diverse and innovative learning pathways ...... 66 4.1.2. Organizational issues .............................................................................................. 67 3 4.1.3. Admissions: Pathways to Birmingham University ................................................. 69 4.1.4. A flexible educational experience ........................................................................... 71 4.1.5. Student perspectives on the LANS degree .............................................................. 74 4.1.6. Enablers and preventers .......................................................................................... 78 4.1.7. Managing flexible pathways ................................................................................... 79 4.1.8. The innovation challenge ........................................................................................ 81 4.1.9. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 82 4.2. Exeter University ........................................................................................................... 83 4.2.1. The Dean’s introduction ......................................................................................... 84 4.2.2 Academic partnerships ............................................................................................. 85 4.2.3 Accreditation of prior learning ................................................................................. 85 4.2.4 Part-time study ......................................................................................................... 86 4.2.5 Degree apprenticeships ............................................................................................ 87 4.2.6 Flexible Combined Honours .................................................................................... 89 4.2.7 Liberal Arts .............................................................................................................. 89 4.2.8 Q-Step ...................................................................................................................... 90 4.2.9 Online distance learning programmes ..................................................................... 92 4.2.10. Some Exeter conclusions on the Impacts of FLPs ................................................ 95 4.2.11 Messages from Birmingham and Exeter ................................................................ 96 4.3. Teesside University ....................................................................................................... 98 4.3.1. Institutional context ................................................................................................ 98 4.3.2. The student ............................................................................................................ 101 4.3.4. Admissions ............................................................................................................ 103 4.3.4. Flexible pathways into the university ................................................................... 104 4.3.5. Flexible pathways through the university ............................................................. 106 4.3.6. Enablers and preventers of flexible offerings: What, when, where, and how?..... 107 4.3.7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 107 4.4. The Open