The influence of business and industry as drivers for change in UK higher education

Tim McLernon

The influence of business and industry as drivers for change in UK higher education

Tim McLernon

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The rationale underpinning UK Higher Education (UKHE) has changed significantly over the last 20 years. Government policy has dictated that 50% of 18 to 30 year olds should be in higher education by the year 2010. Students enter higher education almost solely for the exchange value of the qualification and the expectation of enhanced career prospects in business and industry. This paper argues that UK higher education is not responding to the drivers for change demanded by the key stakeholders and as a result, advances in business and industry are compromised by the inadequacies of graduates. The current HE system has evolved steadily into its current form. However the last two decades have seen radical changes in the demands of stakeholders. These changes were identified by Sporn at the European level as: 'three major challenges: expansion, diversification, and massification'. Higher Education systems have not been sufficiently reactive to these step changes. The paper sets out a current view of HE based on evidence collected through participant observation and data from key stakeholders. It highlights deficiencies in HE which impact adversely on business and industry and which have been created by inherited structures. Some of these proposed deficiencies have been identified such as the funding of HE, the tension between research and teaching, the separation of vocational and non vocational disciplines, the radical advances in ICT, the demands of the key stakeholders and the inability to foster creativity and innovation in the curriculum. The author offers a discussion framework will be constructed to initiate a discourse on how best HE can meet the needs of business and industry more effectively over the next twenty years.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	153-159
Journal	Industry and Higher Education
Volume	22
Issue number	3
Publication status	Published (in print/issue) - Jun 2008

Bibliographical note

Reference text: Barnett, R. (1994) The Limits of Confidence, SRHE and the Open University Press, Buckingham.

Biggs, J (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Open University Press, Buckingham.

Committee on Higher Education (1963) Report of the Committee appointed by the Prime Minister Under the Chairmanship of Lord Robbins, HMSO, London.

Jenkins A. (2004) A Guide to the Research Evidence on Teaching-Research Relations. Higher Education Academy, York.

JISC (1995) Exploiting Information Systems in Higher Education: Issues Paper 04/95/R, Joint Information Systems Committee, April.

Leinhardt, G., McCarthy Young, K., and Merriman, J. (1995) Integrating professional knowledge: The theory of practice and the practice of theory’, Learning and Instruction, Vol 5, pp 401-408.

MacFarlane A.G.J. (1995) ‘Future Patterns of Teaching and Learning’, in Schuller, T., ed, The Changing University, Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, Buckingham.

McLernon, T. & Hughes, D. (2005), Functional harmony in higher education, CEBE Transactions, Vol. 2, Issue 3, December.

McLernon, T. & Hughes, D., (2005) ‘Roadworks on the learning highway: the UK experience of assessment’, paper presented at the Annual Conference and Exposition of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), ‘Exploring the World of Engineering Education’, Portlans, OR, 12th – 15th June 2005.

Miller, A.H., Imrie, B.W. and Cox, K (1998) Student Assessment in Higher Education, Kogan Page, London.

National Audit Office (1994) The Financial Health of Higher Education Institutions in England, HMCS, London.

QAA (2000) Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education Section 6: Assessment of students - May 2000, Quality Assurance Agency, Bristol.

Robinson, K (2006) ‘Do schools kill creativity?’ TedTalks,
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66

Sporn, B (1999) ‘Current issues and future priorities for European higher education systems’, in Altbach, P.G. and McGill Peterson, P; Higher Education in the 21st Century: Global Challenge and National Response, Research Report No 29, Institute of International Education, Annapolis Junction, MD.

Keywords

higher education policy
higher education strategy
business demands
stakeholders
graduate competences
UK.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ip/ihe/2008/00000022/00000003/art00004

Cite this

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title = "The influence of business and industry as drivers for change in UK higher education",

abstract = "The rationale underpinning UK Higher Education (UKHE) has changed significantly over the last 20 years. Government policy has dictated that 50% of 18 to 30 year olds should be in higher education by the year 2010. Students enter higher education almost solely for the exchange value of the qualification and the expectation of enhanced career prospects in business and industry. This paper argues that UK higher education is not responding to the drivers for change demanded by the key stakeholders and as a result, advances in business and industry are compromised by the inadequacies of graduates. The current HE system has evolved steadily into its current form. However the last two decades have seen radical changes in the demands of stakeholders. These changes were identified by Sporn at the European level as: 'three major challenges: expansion, diversification, and massification'. Higher Education systems have not been sufficiently reactive to these step changes. The paper sets out a current view of HE based on evidence collected through participant observation and data from key stakeholders. It highlights deficiencies in HE which impact adversely on business and industry and which have been created by inherited structures. Some of these proposed deficiencies have been identified such as the funding of HE, the tension between research and teaching, the separation of vocational and non vocational disciplines, the radical advances in ICT, the demands of the key stakeholders and the inability to foster creativity and innovation in the curriculum. The author offers a discussion framework will be constructed to initiate a discourse on how best HE can meet the needs of business and industry more effectively over the next twenty years.",

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note = "Reference text: Barnett, R. (1994) The Limits of Confidence, SRHE and the Open University Press, Buckingham. Biggs, J (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Open University Press, Buckingham. Committee on Higher Education (1963) Report of the Committee appointed by the Prime Minister Under the Chairmanship of Lord Robbins, HMSO, London. Jenkins A. (2004) A Guide to the Research Evidence on Teaching-Research Relations. Higher Education Academy, York. JISC (1995) Exploiting Information Systems in Higher Education: Issues Paper 04/95/R, Joint Information Systems Committee, April. Leinhardt, G., McCarthy Young, K., and Merriman, J. (1995) Integrating professional knowledge: The theory of practice and the practice of theory{\textquoteright}, Learning and Instruction, Vol 5, pp 401-408. MacFarlane A.G.J. (1995) {\textquoteleft}Future Patterns of Teaching and Learning{\textquoteright}, in Schuller, T., ed, The Changing University, Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, Buckingham. McLernon, T. & Hughes, D. (2005), Functional harmony in higher education, CEBE Transactions, Vol. 2, Issue 3, December. McLernon, T. & Hughes, D., (2005) {\textquoteleft}Roadworks on the learning highway: the UK experience of assessment{\textquoteright}, paper presented at the Annual Conference and Exposition of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), {\textquoteleft}Exploring the World of Engineering Education{\textquoteright}, Portlans, OR, 12th – 15th June 2005. Miller, A.H., Imrie, B.W. and Cox, K (1998) Student Assessment in Higher Education, Kogan Page, London. National Audit Office (1994) The Financial Health of Higher Education Institutions in England, HMCS, London. QAA (2000) Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education Section 6: Assessment of students - May 2000, Quality Assurance Agency, Bristol. Robinson, K (2006) {\textquoteleft}Do schools kill creativity?{\textquoteright} TedTalks, http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66 Sporn, B (1999) {\textquoteleft}Current issues and future priorities for European higher education systems{\textquoteright}, in Altbach, P.G. and McGill Peterson, P; Higher Education in the 21st Century: Global Challenge and National Response, Research Report No 29, Institute of International Education, Annapolis Junction, MD.",

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N2 - The rationale underpinning UK Higher Education (UKHE) has changed significantly over the last 20 years. Government policy has dictated that 50% of 18 to 30 year olds should be in higher education by the year 2010. Students enter higher education almost solely for the exchange value of the qualification and the expectation of enhanced career prospects in business and industry. This paper argues that UK higher education is not responding to the drivers for change demanded by the key stakeholders and as a result, advances in business and industry are compromised by the inadequacies of graduates. The current HE system has evolved steadily into its current form. However the last two decades have seen radical changes in the demands of stakeholders. These changes were identified by Sporn at the European level as: 'three major challenges: expansion, diversification, and massification'. Higher Education systems have not been sufficiently reactive to these step changes. The paper sets out a current view of HE based on evidence collected through participant observation and data from key stakeholders. It highlights deficiencies in HE which impact adversely on business and industry and which have been created by inherited structures. Some of these proposed deficiencies have been identified such as the funding of HE, the tension between research and teaching, the separation of vocational and non vocational disciplines, the radical advances in ICT, the demands of the key stakeholders and the inability to foster creativity and innovation in the curriculum. The author offers a discussion framework will be constructed to initiate a discourse on how best HE can meet the needs of business and industry more effectively over the next twenty years.

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KW - higher education strategy

KW - business demands

KW - stakeholders

KW - graduate competences

KW - UK.

M3 - Article

SN - 2043-6858

VL - 22

SP - 153

EP - 159

JO - Industry and Higher Education

JF - Industry and Higher Education

IS - 3

ER -

The influence of business and industry as drivers for change in UK higher education

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this