Report 00/38Regional profiles of higher educationView most recent Regional profiles (January 2004) Ref 00/38 October 2000 The electronic version of this document contains the Contents and Introduction. Printed copies of this publication are no longer available. ContentsBackground to higher education Map of higher education in England Regional profiles North-East Annexes Introduction1. This is the second edition of our ‘regional profiles’ of higher education, presenting a range of information about higher education in the nine government regions in England. 2. We published the first edition of regional profiles in April 1999, as a contribution to the debate about the regional role of higher education (HE). That debate continues to develop. There is increasing recognition of the extensive and multi-faceted contribution which universities and colleges make to the economic, social and cultural development of their regions, and the array of links which they have with businesses and other regional partners. In order to understand the extent of that engagement, and the ways in which it might properly develop without detriment to higher education’s other roles at local, national and international levels, it is important for the debate to be informed by accurate and comprehensive data. We hope that this report will assist that. How the HEFCE is seeking to support the regional dimension in higher education3. The HEFCE remains keen to support higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing their regional and local roles, and in working with Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and other regional partners. Over the past year, there have been some important developments in taking forward the regional agenda, including the following. Better information4. In considering how the HE regional contribution could develop, the starting point must be to understand what that contribution currently is. To that end:
Better networks5. There is now a regional consortium of HEIs in every region, supported by HEFCE development funding. Their purpose is both to provide a mechanism for discussion and collaboration between the HEIs for mutual benefit, but also to provide ‘one stop’ access for other regional partners, such as the RDA, to engage with HEIs collectively rather than individually. 6. Regional considerations feed into relevant HEFCE funding programmes. For example, RDAs and Government Offices were involved in the assessment of HEFCE funding allocations for widening participation by students from under-represented groups and the Higher Education Reach-out to Business and the Community programme. The HEFCE also seeks to help RDAs in their own funding programmes ? notably, some RDAs have involved HEFCE Regional Consultants in the consideration of allocations from the RDA Skills Development Fund. 7. The growth of sub-regional and local networks of HE providers is an important feature of HEFCE policy towards HE in further education colleges (FECs). As part of the wider objective to widen participation in HE, we are giving priority to allocating funds for additional student places to sub-degree courses in FE colleges. At the same time, we are encouraging FECs to work with partner HE institutions, and with each other in locally based consortia, with a view to securing a range of complementary HE programmes in each area suited to local needs. Meeting regional demand for student places8. Each year the HEFCE distributes to universities and colleges additional student number (ASN) places. Those places are allocated competitively through a bidding process. The main criteria are widening participation, employability and quality. The regional case is increasingly important, where we look for evidence that the places will help extend HE to under-represented groups and meet the needs of employers, taking account of RDA regional skill plans. 9. A number of universities and colleges have undertaken studies of future regional demand for HE, supported by HEFCE funding ? in Cornwall, Cumbria, Thanet and Southend. Where the demand studies indicate an under-provision of HE opportunities relative to the population base, we take account of that in the allocation of ASNs and the award of grants from the restructuring and collaboration fund. Meeting Regional Employer Needs10. The new HEFCE initiative on learning and teaching strategies includes promotion of employability. All HEIs are being allocated additional special funding in return for the provision of strategies setting out how they will raise the quality of learning and teaching. The efficacy of HE programmes in preparing students for employment is an important aspect of ‘quality’ which HEIs have addressed in their strategies. 11. The Government’s foundation degrees initiative is designed to ensure that the knowledge, skills and competences which students acquire in HE are closely related to employers’ needs. Their design will seek to reflect employers’ concerns about the generic skills they look for in graduates. 12. Universities and colleges need on occasion to make step-function changes in their structure to reflect new labour market demands. The HEFCE restructuring and collaboration fund supports changes which are beyond the capacity of individual HEIs to fund from standard resources. HEFCE 99/34 gave details of the projects approved up to the end of 1998. A forthcoming publication will report progress up to the end of 1999. Many of the projects supported relate to the restructuring of subject departments to ensure they continue to reflect the growth and decline of different economic sectors. Higher Education Reach-out to Business and the Community13. The HE Reach-out to Business and the Community fund is intended as a permanent stream of HEFCE grant to all HEIs. It recognises for the first time the significance of reach-out activities as a third area of core HEI activity alongside, and having comparable status with, teaching and research. The emphasis, at least initially, is on wealth-creating activities, working with local and regional businesses to promote knowledge and technology transfer, enhancing skill levels and employability, and applying HEI expertise, research and facilities for the benefit of the regional economy. Widening Participation14. Widening access to HE for under-represented groups is a priority for every region. The primary means by which the HEFCE is seeking to support that objective are:
Conclusion15. Universities and colleges have achieved a great deal in contributing to the development of their regions. There is increasing recognition of the integral part they can play in promoting economic and social development. Subject to the availability of the necessary funds, there is substantial scope to extend that contribution. We hope this report will promote constructive debate, regionally and nationally, about how that might best be done. Background to higher educationHigher education in England1. Higher education in England takes place in a wide variety of institutions. The three main types are universities, higher education colleges and further education colleges. 2. Higher education is defined as covering, broadly, courses above the standard of GCE A-levels or National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3. They include degree courses, postgraduate courses and Higher National Diplomas and Certificates. Universities and higher education colleges3. Publicly funded universities and higher education colleges carry out teaching, research and a wide range of other activities. These institutions are referred to as ‘higher education institutions’ (HEIs) or collectively as the ‘higher education sector’. There are 87 universities (including 17 directly funded institutions of the University of London) and 45 higher education colleges in England. There are also some privately funded universities and colleges that are not included in the ‘HE sector’. Further education colleges4. There are 435 further education (FE) colleges in England. Many also offer higher education courses. Of these, 230 are funded directly by the HEFCE for their HE activity, while others provide higher education courses through franchise arrangements. 5. Further education is defined as covering, broadly, education and training programmes for people who have left school, at levels up to the standard of GCE A-levels or NVQ Level 3. FE is provided in sixth-form colleges, further education colleges or higher education institutions, a wide variety of private educational training providers, and the workplace. The Open University6. The Open University provides distance learning courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level throughout the UK. The university’s headquarters are in Milton Keynes, but it also has regional offices throughout the country. In the regional comparison charts, we have shown the home region of Open University students in England. For each region, we have shown the proportion of all students in the region who are Open University students, in the chart ‘HE students by type of institution’. 7. Although the headquarters of the Open University are in the South East region, we have not included the Open University in any of the aggregated statistics for the South East, as its activities and students are nation-wide. 8. The Open University is by far the largest provider of distance learning courses, but it is not the only one. Other campus-based institutions also provide some distance learning. Franchising9. Franchising is, broadly speaking, an arrangement where a student who is registered at one institution (the franchiser), is taught at another institution (the franchisee). Many franchise arrangements are between a higher education institution and a further education college, where the HEI receives funding for the students and is responsible for quality assurance. A proportion of the funding is passed on to the college providing the teaching. The arrangement can cover the whole or part of the course. 10. The data in this publication show the students, and the associated funding, with the HEI where the students are registered (the franchiser). Therefore, students franchised to a college in another region are included in the statistics of the HEI’s home region. 11. We have estimated the number of HE students franchised to FE colleges for each region. In addition, we have included franchised students, where known, in our listing of the major providers of HE in the FE sector. Our data on franchised students are not complete, so these estimates should be treated with caution. We have worked with HEIs to improve our data collection in this area and shall continue to do so. Multiple campuses12. Many higher education institutions have more than one campus. The regional maps illustrate major campuses located a significant distance from the institution’s main campus. 13. Where institutions have significant student populations on campuses in another region, this is indicated in a footnote to the chart showing full-time equivalent student numbers. All such students (and distance learning and franchised students) have been included in the region of the institution’s main campus in all figures and tables. Student numbers14. The student numbers used in this publication are for full-time equivalent (FTE) students. Sandwich students on their industrial placement are assumed to have an FTE of 0.5, while the FTE for part-time students will vary according to the intensity of the programme. The exception is the charts showing mode of study, home region of Open University students, and the time series of student numbers, where we have shown the total number of students regardless of time spent on the course (the ‘headcount’ measure). 15. There are some 1,182,000 FTE HE students in England in the current academic year (1999-2000): this corresponds to 1,550,000 students in total (headcount). Student characteristics16. We have illustrated some aspects of the diversity of the student population in each region. These include the mode of study (whether full-time or part-time), the level of qualification that the student is studying towards, and the age of the student on entry to the course. We have also shown where young students come from, the subjects studied by HE students, the number of overseas students, and the students’ gender. Income to HE institutions17. Universities and higher education colleges are legally independent institutions that attract income from a wide variety of sources, both public and private. This includes grants from the HEFCE, income from tuition fees (including fees from overseas students), grants and contracts for research activity from public, charitable and commercial sources, income from student accommodation and catering, and a wide range of other channels. The total income to English HEIs in 1998-99 was over £9.6 billion. Funding Council grant accounted for 39 per cent of this total, while 23 per cent came from tuition fees (both public and private), and 16 per cent was derived from research grants and contracts. HEFCE funding18. We use formulae to determine how most of the HEFCE’s grant is allocated between institutions. These take account of certain factors for each institution, including the number and type of students, the subjects taught, and the amount and quality of research undertaken there. After we determine the amount of funding, it is provided as a ‘block grant’, which institutions are free to allocate according to their own priorities within our broad guidelines. A full description of our funding methods is given in the HEFCE publication “Funding higher education in England: How the HEFCE allocates its funds” (HEFCE 00/07). 19. The HEFCE will distribute £4,382 million in the next academic year (2000-01). This comprises £3,022 million for teaching, £867 million for research, £150 million for earmarked capital funding and £333 million in special funding (funding, usually in support of specific initiatives and capital investment, which is not allocated through the main teaching and research funding formulae). Only £69 million of special funding has been allocated at present, and this is the total illustrated on the graphs. The remaining £264 million includes claims-based funding and allocations still to be finalised. Research assessment20. The main purpose of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is to sustain and improve the quality of research through the selective allocation of funds. Institutions conducting the best research receive a larger proportion of the grant. The RAE provides judgements of quality on which to base these funding decisions, using a rating scale from 5* (highest) to 1 (lowest). 21. The RAE is carried out every three to five years. The last one was in 1996. The results of the next one will be published in Autumn 2001. Assessment is by peer review by panels of experts covering 69 different subject areas. Participation and access22. In the last 15 years, the number of higher education students has grown dramatically, and the nature of the student population has changed. Roughly a third of young people now enter higher education, the number of mature students has increased, and women now outnumber men. However, people from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds are still under-represented in higher education. 23. In association with the other higher education funding bodies, we published a set of performance indicators in higher education in December 1999. We have illustrated the performance of institutions and regions in respect of two of these indicators, relating to access and non-continuation. 24. We have shown the performance of institutions in each region in recruiting young full-time first-degree students from low participation neighbourhoods and the percentage of non-continuation in the first year at the institution of the same group of students. As non-completion rates and access indicators are both closely linked to the profile of entrants, these are shown together. Dates25. Data and charts have been produced from the most recent reliable data. Information on student numbers, and their mode and level of study, is for the current academic year (1999-2000). Breakdowns of students by other characteristics, such as age, gender, subject and home region, are from the 1998-99 academic year. Information on HEI income is also from 1998-99. All details on HEFCE funding relate to allocations for 2000-01. Data on first destinations relate to students graduating in 1998. Population statistics are from 1997. GDP figures are from 1997, while the unemployment rates quoted are for the three months to April 2000. Data sources26. The main sources of data used in compiling ‘Regional profiles’ are:
27. A full description of the data sources is given in Annex 1. Further reading28. The following publications provide additional information about higher education and the role of the HEFCE:
29. They are available from: HEFCE Publications Tel 0117 931 7035. e-mail hefce@hefce.ac.uk 30. These publications, and information about all our activities, are available on our website at www.hefce.ac.uk. |
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