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4.0 Further and higher education
Change in educational processes isn’t confined to schools.
There are now 4.6 million students over the age of 19 studying a
wide range of vocational qualifications in further education colleges.
As a consequence of this dramatic increase in student numbers,
colleges have already been required to completely reassess the
way they think about their physical estate. Further education
was underinvested in for many years, which, of course, affected
expenditure on maintenance and this is showing up in the
buildings. But colleges are beginning to be able to invest in facilities
again, and have taken the opportunity to think about using space
to create different types of learning experiences. A blurring of
boundaries between academic and vocational is occurring –
people are using further education to learn the skills they need
for work and to continually reinvigorate their careers.
Soft settings for learning and use of big electronic screens
at Cox Computer Center, Emory University University-based higher education has also become a big industry –
the total annual expenditure on higher education across the UK is
almost £18 billion (2004/05 figures from Higher Education in Facts
and Figures, Universities UK, London, 2006). A recent report by the
London Development Agency and London Higher, London – The
Knowledge Capital, stated that universities and higher education
colleges in London are responsible for one per cent of the UK’s
GDP, through the goods and services they provide. So higher
education generates a lot of money, but what do the students
think about their experience of it? The 2006 National Student
Survey asked 157,000 students about the courses they were
studying in terms of the quality of the teaching, assessment and
feedback they receive from academic staff, the support they
receive, and the organisation of the institution – basically the whole
experience. What was fascinating was that, for the second year
running, the Open University emerged from the survey as the
university offering the highest quality of learning experience in the
UK. Eleven of the 53 best courses identified in the survey were
As a consequence of the dramatic
Open University courses. What does this say about the future
increase in student numbers, colleges of the physical university, if what’s essentially a virtual university is
have been required to completely perceived to provide the best quality university learning experience?
reassess the way they think about The Open University is an amazing institution, one of the great
their physical estate. achievements of the last 40 years. There are 200,000 students
13 Further and higher education
