BIS White Paper Puts Students at the Heart of the University System
By
Liz Sunter
Journalist
Category: IT Strategy
Last week BIS, the Department for Business, Innovation and
Skills, released a white paper intended to provide students
with the information they need to assess the value of the course
they're considering, with key metrics including quality of
teaching, number of contact hours and post-course employment
stats.
In the words of Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable: "Higher education is a successful public-private partnership; combining Government funding with institutional autonomy.
"This white paper builds on that record, while doing more than ever to put students in the driving seat. We want to see more investment, greater diversity, including innovative forms of delivery from further education colleges and others, and less centralised control over student numbers."
The paper looks at four key areas: funding reform; the quality of the 'student experience'; enabling universities to improve social mobility and making universities more accountable than ever before. According to its press release, the paper will:
• Ensure better information for students before they apply, better teaching while at university, greater transparency in areas such as feedback on their work and better preparation for the job market.
• Ask Professor Sir Tim Wilson to undertake a review into how university-industry collaboration can excel. The review will look at how the decline in sandwich courses can be reversed.
• Encourage universities to engage actively with employers to accredit or "kitemark" courses to indicate to students that they are valued by them.
Make universities more accountable to students on teaching quality, who can trigger quality reviews where there are grounds for concern.
• Review the extent to which Student Charters are adopted and whether they should be made mandatory in the future.
• Free up student number controls by making around 85,000 places contestable among universities in 2012/13: through unrestrained recruitment of high-achieving students who typically get AAB grades, and by creating a flexible margin of places to reward quality providers charging an average of £7,500 or less for tuition.
• Ensure that the Office for Fair Access is properly resourced so that it can go further and faster to drive fair access for students from lower income families and widen participation.
• Enable a wider range of providers to join the sector to offer more choice for students.
• Promise less regulation and bureaucracy for universities.
You can read the white paper here.
Broadcaster Mike Baker also has a breakdown of the key points on his education blog.
Want to know more about what the new proposals could mean for you? Give us a call on 03332 409 300, email learning@Jigsaw24.com or leave a comment below and we'll get back to you shortly. In the meantime, visit Jigsaw24.com to see our full education range.
In the words of Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable: "Higher education is a successful public-private partnership; combining Government funding with institutional autonomy.
"This white paper builds on that record, while doing more than ever to put students in the driving seat. We want to see more investment, greater diversity, including innovative forms of delivery from further education colleges and others, and less centralised control over student numbers."
The paper looks at four key areas: funding reform; the quality of the 'student experience'; enabling universities to improve social mobility and making universities more accountable than ever before. According to its press release, the paper will:
• Ensure better information for students before they apply, better teaching while at university, greater transparency in areas such as feedback on their work and better preparation for the job market.
• Ask Professor Sir Tim Wilson to undertake a review into how university-industry collaboration can excel. The review will look at how the decline in sandwich courses can be reversed.
• Encourage universities to engage actively with employers to accredit or "kitemark" courses to indicate to students that they are valued by them.
Make universities more accountable to students on teaching quality, who can trigger quality reviews where there are grounds for concern.
• Review the extent to which Student Charters are adopted and whether they should be made mandatory in the future.
• Free up student number controls by making around 85,000 places contestable among universities in 2012/13: through unrestrained recruitment of high-achieving students who typically get AAB grades, and by creating a flexible margin of places to reward quality providers charging an average of £7,500 or less for tuition.
• Ensure that the Office for Fair Access is properly resourced so that it can go further and faster to drive fair access for students from lower income families and widen participation.
• Enable a wider range of providers to join the sector to offer more choice for students.
• Promise less regulation and bureaucracy for universities.
You can read the white paper here.
Broadcaster Mike Baker also has a breakdown of the key points on his education blog.
Want to know more about what the new proposals could mean for you? Give us a call on 03332 409 300, email learning@Jigsaw24.com or leave a comment below and we'll get back to you shortly. In the meantime, visit Jigsaw24.com to see our full education range.
