HE2005+
Towards a Sectoral Strategy for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Institutions
A Report of a policy oriented workshop commissioned by the HEFCE
Professor Mantz Yorke, Professor David McCormack and Professor Tony Chapman
May 1996
Reference M 17/96
The electronic version of this document contains the contents list and Executive summary. The complete printed document is available from the HEFCE, price £7.00.
Index
- Executive summary
- Context
- Outcomes
- Annex 1: Workshop papers
- Annex 2: Workshop presentations
- The changing face of higher education: golden and doomsday scenarios for the year 2005 (David Robertson)
- Learning resources for the 21st century (Lynne Brindley)
- Human resource development (David Triesman)
- The information technology revolution: reflections on a presentation given by Phil Woodhead (David McCormick)
- The higher education institution of the 21st century: the student is a young professional (Hans van Ginkel)
- Annex 3: Evaluation
- Annex 4: The organisers
- Annex 5: The participants
Executive summary
This document reports on a Workshop, commissioned by HEFCE, with the intention of informing policy in relation to the future development in teaching and learning in higher education.
The Workshop, which was designed around a future-oriented simulation, brought together some fifty senior staff from the higher education sector to consider the implications of changes likely to impact on the sector in the next decade or so.
Assumptions underpinning the Workshop included the following:
- that incremental adjustments to the practices of teaching and learning were likely to be insufficient to deal adequately with the scale and pace of impending change;
- that a mass higher education system was qualitatively different in character and needs from the previous elite system; and
- that participation in higher education was evolving from a largely full/part-time dichotomy to a participantdetermined flexibility.
To these assumptions needed to be added the external influences of economic globalisation and developments in communications technology.
The Workshop highlighted four general themes:
- diversity in higher education and funding methodology;
- the promotion of teaching and learning;
- support for the development of learning materials; and
- the continuing professional development of staff.
Diversity and funding drew attention to three subthemes: the tension between teaching and research, the tension between specialisation and generalisation in institutional provision, and the implications of potential changes on institutional policies regarding building stock. Consideration of the following was suggested:
- a 'mission-neutral' funding policy;
- whether institutional profiles of provision should be reviewed; and
- sectoral and institutional accommodation strategies.
The promotion of teaching and learning in institutions was seen to require the following:
- a clear policy on teaching and learning;
- an appropriate recognition and reward system;
- recognition that the roles of academic and support staff would evolve;
- a clear policy for staff development;
- research into teaching and learning; and
- appraisal of performance.
At sectoral level, there was seen to be a role for a national steering committee which would
- act as a highlevel forum for the development of policy;
- review, and advise on, the implications of policy and of external factors; and
- steer the commissioning and delivery of relevant research and development.
It was noted that a number of influences were pressing towards an emphasis on learning, rather than on teaching. Development of learning materials was seen as an important (but not the only important) aspect of the higher education system of the future. Five key issues were seen as needing to be addressed:
- the scale of development of learning materials;
- the coordination of initiatives;
- the nature of the materials;
- the platform(s) on which computerbased materials should be located; and
- intellectual property rights.
Subject discipline networks might have an enhanced role in respect of both the use of, and the development of, learning materials. It was also noted that the development of learning materials, perhaps undertaken in collaboration with providers from outside higher education, could be seen in terms of an investment which might accrue returns in both straight financial terms and, more importantly, in terms of greater sectoral efficiency and effectiveness.
Continuing professional development of staff as educators was seen as crucial to the success of higher education in the future, and it was necessary to resolve the paradox of a sector which supported the concept of lifelong reaming but which appeared, as far as its own staff were concerned, not to apply it as fully as it might.