Colleges2020

ContentsandIntroduction
EditedbyTonyDolphinandJonathanClifton
WWW.IPPR.ORG

EDUCATION

PUBLICSERVICES
Colleges2020
EditedbyTonyDolphinandJonathanClifton

Contents
Aboutippr.................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements...................................................................................................... 2
Aboutthecontributors ................................................................................................ 3
Preface
RtHonDavidBlunkettMP........................................................................................................ 4
Foreword
MartinDoel................................................................................................................................ 6
Introduction
JonathanClifton........................................................................................................................ 7
1.Trendsandfunding
JulianGravatt .......................................................................................................................... 12
2.Openforbusiness:cancollegesbecomesitesforentrepreneurship?
TerryWarburton....................................................................................................................... 24
3.Thesocialvalueoffurthereducationandadultlearning
J.D.CarpentieriandJohnVorhaus.......................................................................................... 34
4.Theglobalcollege
JillRutter ................................................................................................................................. 47
5.Freshdirectionsforteachingandlearninginfurthereducation
AlanBrown ................................................................................................................ 65
6.Challengestodesignersofthefuturecollege
JohnBryan .............................................................................................................................. 78
7.Collegesintheirlocalcontext
JohnWiddowson ..................................................................................................................... 88
8.UScommunitycollegesandlessonsforBritishfurthereducationcolleges
KevinJ.Dougherty .................................................................................................................. 93
9.Conclusion:Aviewfromoutsidethecollegesystem
TonyDolphin ......................................................................................................................... 106

InstituteforPublicPolicyResearch ©ippr2010
3 Colleges2020

Introduction
JonathanClifton

ThepastdecadehasbeengoodforcollegesinBritain,eveniftherehavebeensome
bumpsalongtheway.Theyreceivedasteadyincreaseingovernmentspending,from
£4billionin2000to£6billionbytheendofthedecade,andtherewasconsiderable
investmentinstaffandneglectedbuildings(seeGravatt,thisvolume).Inthe2007–8
academicyeartherewere435collegesacrossBritainandtogethertheyemployedjust
under300,000staff1 (LLUK2009a).Thesestaffsawtheirsalariesriseyearonyear
throughoutmostofthedecade.2
Thedecadewasalsogoodforthecentralroleofcolleges:teachingandlearning.The
numberoflearnerspassingthroughcollegesincreased,andinthelastacademicyear
therewere4.75millionlearnersonLearningandSkillsCouncil(LSC)-fundedcourses
inEnglandalone(seeCarpentieriandVorhaus,thisvolume).Theteachingroleof
collegeshasdiversified,andtheynowaccountforoverhalfofallA-Levelprovision.
Completionandsatisfactionrateshavealsoimproved.Ingeneral,othermeasuresof
performancehavebeenpositive.TheFEcollegesuccessrateinEnglandin2007/8
was80.7percent,exceedingthetargettheGovernmentsetforitby4percent.
Apprenticeshipcompletionshavealsoexceededtheirtargets,althoughthereismore
worktobedoneonimprovingadultskills(DataService2010).
Whilecollegesoccasionallyhittheheadlinesforthewrongreasons–suchasoutdated
buildings–thepicturewasgenerallyoneofavibrantsectordaringtobeoptimistic
aboutitsfuture.
Howeverthepointofthisbookisnottolookback,buttolookforward.ForColleges
2020,ippraskedleadingpractitionersandresearcherstolayoutwherecolleges
shouldbein10years’timeandthechallengestheyfaceingettingthere.Asthe
chapterswerebeingwrittenthefuturebegantolookincreasinglyuncertain.Economic
stormcloudsburstoverhead;anewskillsagendawasreleasedbytheGovernment;
collegebuildingprojectsgroundtoahalt;itwasannouncedthattheLearningand
SkillsCouncilistobesplitupandlocalauthoritiesaretobegivenmorecontrolover
funding;andasurgeofyoungunemployedpeopleregisteringforcoursessqueezed
resourcesharderthanever.
Whileitiseasytofocusontheimmediatethreatscollegesface–andtheyare
considerable–changestoBritishsocietywillalsopresentFEinparticularwith
opportunities:
1.Thisfigureisthenumberofstaffcontractsissuedbycolleges.Somestaffmayhavebeenissuedmorethanone
contractandthereforethefigureforactualstaffmaybeslightlylower.
2.Between2003/4and2007/8femalesalariesroseby11.8%andmalesalariesroseby8.2%-thedifferenceis
duetoattemptstonarrowthegenderpaygap(LLUK2009b).
 Colleges2020|Introduction– JonathanClifton 4

• TheeconomiccrisishaspromptedcallsfortheUKworkforcetoimproveitsskills,
especiallythetechnicalandpracticalskillsthatFEcollegesaresowellplacedtoprovide.
• Peoplearechangingjobsmorefrequently,meaningadultswillrequireconstant
trainingthroughouttheircareerstoensuretheykeepupwithnewdevelopments.
ThetrainingprovidedbyFEcollegescouldplayanimportantpartinthisagenda.
• TheGovernmentwantseveryyoungpersontobeineducationuntiltheyareat
least18,andmanyyoungpeoplewhoareunabletofindajobarenowturning
backtocollegeeducation.
• Thefactpeoplearelivinglongerandspendingmoretimeinretirementmeansthere
willbeincreaseddemandforleisurelearning.
• Internationalmigrationwillensurecollegeshavearolebothinpreparingstudents
foragloballabourmarket,andinhelpingtofostercommunitycohesioninour
diversetownsandcities.
Itisagainstthiscontextofthreatsandopportunitiesthatourauthorssetouttheir
recommendationsforColleges2020.
Collegesandtheeconomy
Animmediateeconomicconcernforcollegesisthefutureoffunding.InChapter1
JulianGravattnotesthatthefirstdecadeofthemillenniumwasagoodonefor
colleges–withrealincreasesinfundingandinvestmentininfrastructure.Thenext
decadewillbetougher,withthelikelihoodofspendingcutsandincreased
competitionfromotherskillsproviders.Gravattpointsoutthatthesecutswillbe
spreadunevenlyacrossthefunctionsthatcollegesperform,withsomeareasbetter
protectedthanothers,andpositswhatbudgetcutsmightmeanforcolleges–with
feeincreases,staffcuts,andcollegemergersallonthecards.Butitisnotjust
tightergovernmentspendingthatwillchallengefundingstreams.Thecurrent
centralisedfundingmodelislikelytocomeunderattackfromlocalcouncilsasthey
aregivenmoreresponsibilityforcolleges.Changestothecurriculumand
qualificationsthatcollegesofferwillalsoalterhowfundingisorganised.But
Gravattbelievesthat,whilefundingwillbeastruggleoverthenextdecade,recent
improvementsmeanthesectorisbetterplacedthanevertodealwiththe
challengesithastoface.
Thefinancialcrisisandsubsequentrecessionhaveledtoareassessmentofthe
typeofskillsandbusinessesthatareneededtosupporttheUKeconomy.The
mainpoliticalpartiesareunitedintheirbeliefthatsmallbusinesseswillbecentral
tofuturegrowthand‘rebalancing’oftheeconomy.Businessenterpriseissettobe
acentraleconomicpolicygoaloverthecomingdecadeandinChapter2Terry
Warburtonmakesthecaseforcollegeshavinganimportantroletoplayin
developingthenecessaryskills.Heprovidesanumberofcasestudiestoshowhow
collegeshavesetaboutthistask–includingweavingenterpriseeducationintothe
curriculumandextra-curricularactivities,trainingstaffandmanagerstodeliverit,
andworkingwithlocalbusinessesandentrepreneurstoprovidemore‘realworld’
5 Colleges2020

experience.Buthearguesthatcollegescanalsousetheircapacityand
infrastructuretomoredirectlysupportbusinessstart-up,byincubatingnew
businessesandcoordinatingnetworksofentrepreneurs.
Collegesandthecommunity
Whileitistemptinginthecurrenteconomicclimatetofocusjustontheroleof
collegesindevelopingskillsforthelabourmarket,inChapter3J.D.Carpentieriand
JohnVorhausremindusofthecollege’swidersocialvalue.Theyarguethat,because
itishardtoquantifythebroadsocialimpactofcolleges,muchofwhatFEachievesis
overlookedandunrecognised.Theresultisthatpolicymakersexpecttoomuchfrom
collegesineconomicterms,andtoolittleattentionispaidtowhattheycontributein
otherareas.Adultlearningisassociatedwithincreasedlifesatisfaction,self-esteem,
self-efficacyandimprovedhealth.Collegescanhelpbuildsocialcapitalandnetworks
offriends,whichareavaluablesourceofsupport.Thesebenefitsareseenacrossall
typesofcollegecourse–vocational,academicandleisure– andthisleadstheauthors
totakeissuewithgovernmentministerswhoattachlittleimportancetolearningfor
leisure.Thechallengeoverthenextdecade,then,istoconvincepolicymakerstotake
noteofthebenefitscollegesbringbeyondsimplytheeconomicones,byfindinga
waytomeasurethebroadrangeofoutcomestheydeliver.Thismightbetoughwhen
thegovernmentdepartmentresponsibleforFEisfocusedonbusinessandthe
economy.
CollegescanalsohelptheUKmanageincreasinglydiversecommunities.International
migrationhasbecomeanintrinsicfeatureofBritishlifeoverrecentdecades,andin
Chapter4JillRutterarguesthatflowsofpeopleinandoutoftheUKprovidea
numberofchallengesforcolleges,includingstudentshavingvariedEnglishlanguage
skillsandawiderangeofeducationalbackgrounds.Therearethreeareaswhere
collegeswillplayanimportantroleinthenextdecade.First,theycanaidthe
integrationofmigrantsbyprovidingthemwithlanguagetraining,skillsandsocial
contactsthatareessentialtohelpthemsettle.Second,theycanfostersocialcohesion
bybringingpeopletogetherfromdiversegroupsandfacilitatinggrassrootsdiscussion
aboutmigration.Third,theycanpreparetheirstudentsforagloballabourmarketin
whichmanyofthemmightexpecttotraveloverseas.Rutterendsbyremindingus
thatmanycollegecoursesarealreadydependentonthefeesfrominternational
studentsandthattheabilityofcollegestorecruitstudentsfromoverseaswill
determine,inpart,whetherornottheyremaincompetitiveinthefuture.
Teaching,learningandthebuiltenvironment
InChapter5ourattentionisturnedtoteachingandlearning.AlanBrownaddsthree
furtherchallengestothosefacingcollegesinthenextdecade.First,inour
knowledge-basedeconomyandageingsocietyteachingmethodswillhavetoreflect
theimportanceoflifelonglearning.Educationshouldbelessaboutjumpingthrough
hoopstoachievequalifications,andmoreaboutconstantgradualdevelopmentto
updateskills.Second,collegeswillhavetoreconcilethegrowthoftechnologywith
theirteachingandlearningaims.Browncautionsthatwhiletechnologycanenhance
 Colleges2020|Introduction– JonathanClifton 6

learningbyprovidingaccesstoresourcesandconnectinglearnersintonetworksof
support,itisnotanendinitself.Third,Brownarguesthatmoreattentionshouldbe
paidtothesocialandemotionaldimensionsoflearning.Everyclassroomhasa
differentculturedependingontherelationshipsbetweentutors,studentsandpeers,
andthereforetutorsshouldbegivenmorefreedomandcontroloverhowtheyachieve
thedesiredoutcomes.Takentogether,thisamountstoafreshdirectionforteaching
andlearninginthecomingyears.
Tightpublicfinanceswillinevitablymeanreducedcapitalexpenditureoncollegesover
thenextdecade.InChapter6JohnBryanarguesthatthisshouldnotbeusedasan
excusetoignorethephysicaldesignofcolleges.Justlikegoodteaching,good
buildingscanimproveresultsandhelpcollegestoattractstudentsinanincreasingly
competitiveenvironment.Overthenextdecadethecollegeestatewillalsohaveto
incorporatenewmethodsofteaching,increaseduseofICTandimproved
environmentalsustainability.Bryanacknowledgesthatthesearebigdemandson
collegeprincipalsastheyplantheirestatesfor2020,demandsthataremademore
dauntingbythedrying-upoffundstoachievethem.Hethereforemapsoutthe
prioritiesforcollegedesigntohelpfocusmindsonthemostimportanttasks,
identifyinghowresourcescouldbefreedupthroughusingfacilitiesmoreintensively,
newprocurementmethods,andcombiningcertainfunctions.However,hecautions
againsttakingtheeasyoptionofsellingupandmovingtocheaperlocationsoutof
town,becausecollegesneedtobeeasilyaccessibletopeoplefromallwalksoflifeand
toadultswhocombinestudyingwiththeirjobs.
Fromthelocaltotheglobal
Itisacommonmistaketotreatcollegesasahomogenoussetofinstitutions,focusing
ontheiraggregateimpactatanationallevel.Butthesectorisdiverseandincludes
generalFE,specialist,sixthformandtertiarycolleges.InChapter7JohnWiddowson
remindsusthatitisatthelocallevelthatthetruebenefitsofthediversityofFE
collegesaremostkeenlyfelt,andthattheyoftenenjoyabetterreputationlocallythan
thesectordoesasawholenationally.Analysisoftheeconomicimpactcollegeshaveon
theirlocalareademonstratestheyareagoodinvestment–creatingjobs,spending
money,helpingtoregenerateneighbourhoodsandprovidingskillstrainingtailoredto
localneeds.Collegescanalsoplayanimportantroleinbuildingcommunitycohesion
andinprovidingresourcesandfacilitiesthatthewidercommunitycanuse.AstheUK
continuesitsshifttowardsaknowledge-basedeconomyandmulticulturalsociety,
collegeswillbeimportantdriversinshapinglocalplaces.ButifFEistotacklethe
bewilderingarrayoftasksitisgiven(suchaspreparingstudentsforhighereducation,
technicaltraining,adultskillsdevelopmentandbuildingcommunitycohesion)thenit
cannotdoitalone.Collegeswillhavetodevelopwaystoworkwithotherlocalbodies
toachievecommongoals,includingemployers,businesssectorgroups,schools,
universities,faithgroups,localcouncilsandregionalbodies.Whilecollegeshavealways
hadstrongrootsintheirlocalcommunities,theabilitytoworkinpartnershipwitha
hostofotherorganisationswillbeessentialfortheirsuccessincomingyears.
7 Colleges2020

Chapter8providesaninternationalperspective.WritingfromtheUSA,Kevin
DoughertyreviewshowthemuchlaudedAmericancommunitycollegesystemcanbe
asourceofbothinspirationandcautionfortheUKbecauseitsharesmanyaimswith
FEcollegesinBritain.OfparticularinteresttoaUKaudience,wheremoresixthform
studentsarenoweducatedincollegesthaninschools,ishowcommunitycolleges
havehelpedtheirstudentstransitiontohighereducation.Doughertygoesonto
outlineinnovativewaystohelpstudentswhoneedspecialattentioninorderto‘catch
up’totheacademicstandardofcolleges,includingattemptsbycollegestointervene
early,workingwithnearbyhighschoolstoimprovetheskillsoftheirstudents.But
afterreviewingthesuccessofcommunitycollegesinanumberofareas,Dougherty
pointsoutthatchallengesremain–suchasinequalitiesinspending,pooracademic
successandpatchyresultsforadultandcommunityeducation.Thisservesasa
reminderthatnoapproachcansimplybeimportedwholesalefromoverseas,but
ratheritshouldbeusedasasparkfornewthinkingaboutcommonproblems.
Theviewfromoutside
InChapter9,bywayofaconclusion,ippr’sTonyDolphinpresentsanoutsider’sview
ofthechallengesfacingcollegesoverthenextdecadeandhowtheymightshapethe
sectorandthenatureofindividualcollegesin2020.Hefocusesinalittlemoredepth
onthefundingchallengeraisedbyJulianGravattandhighlightshowcutsinspending
onFEarelikelytobesustainedforseveralyears.Healsoconsidershowchangesin
thestructureoftheeconomywillrequireamajorcontributionfromcollegesas
deliverersofaskilledworkforceandsuggeststhat,ifresourcesarestretched,this
mightleadtoreducedprovisionofleisureclasses.Thesetrends,heargues,willtendto
pushcollegesinthedirectionofbecomingmorefocused,butalsomorecommercial
operations.Therisk,therefore,isthatwhilecollegesgainaclarityofpurpose,theywill
losesomeoftheirconnectionswiththeirlocalcommunities.
ThenextdecadewillseecollegesintheUKbeinggivenlessmoneyandbeing
expectedtodomorethaneverwithit.Theirroleinprovidingskillstotheeconomy
willbevitaliftheUKistoremaincompetitiveintheglobaleconomybuttheywillalso
wanttomaintaintheirlinkswiththelocalcommunity.Theywillhavetobeflexible
enoughtoadapttobigchallengeswhilestrivingtogainareputationforexcellence.
Collegesin2020willbedifferentfromthecollegesoftoday.Herearesomepointers
tothepossiblenatureofthosedifferences.

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