The government has no intention of introducing a statutory baseline of contact hours between students and academics in HE institutions. But Ministers have increasing concerns that students are being offered massively reduced contact time by universities, in favour of whats called ‘ blended ‘ or ‘hybrid’ learning- that is a mix of face to face and remote learning, with the balance, more often than not, it would seem, in favour of remote learning. The BBC in a recent snapshot survey of 47 universities, found that just 13 said they would be offering mostly face-to-face tuition this term. . The others say they are adopting a more blended approach. 19 institutions also told the BBC they would be offering additional online learning resources.
English higher education (HE) providers are, in law, autonomous institutions, which means that they have the freedom to determine the way their courses are taught, supervised, and assessed. So, its clearly a matter for individual providers to ensure that all students have the support they need to succeed and benefit from their HE experience. But many students suggest that the institutions academic offer to them now is very different from that which they signed up to. And there is a perception, among a significant number, that this diminishes their overall university experience. According to a HEPI survey, only just over half of students are satisfied with the on line offers from their universities . Yet they are still having to fork out the full fees. They don’t think much of this, but find that there is not an awful lot they can do about it. . Student surveys also suggest that close to half of students believe that they are not getting value for money. The most recent HEPI survey -2021 found that while just over one-in-four students (27%) felt they have received good or very good value , 44% of students perceived poor or very poor value. Overall, student satisfaction rates with the university experience are historically in decline too. Universities point out, not unreasonably, that applications to their courses are at record highs.But given that the pandemic has ridden a coach and horses through the jobs market , recruitment processes and internships , is it not likely that students are opting for what they see as a safe option that will give them some security over the next three years. Good risk management shouldn’t be mistaken for a massive vote of confidence in the sector, and whats on offer academically and pastorally.
Ministers have made it pretty clear that all registered providers must continue to meet the Office for Students (OfS) registration conditions in relation to the quality of HE. These registration conditions make clear the need to ensure that courses are high-quality, and that students are properly supported to achieve good outcomes.
The government has now lifted the restrictions on in-person teaching and providers are therefore able to shape their courses without restrictions on face-to-face learning.
The governments view, shared by students representatives, is that HE providers should therefore not be planning to restrict teaching based on COVID19 restrictions. As Minister Michelle Donelan said ,on 21 September, ‘ We expect all universities to continue to deliver excellent learning, in line with guidance from the OfS, and that they should provide students with a full experience’. Nicola Dandridge of the regulator ,OfS said she was expecting the overwhelming majority of universities and colleges to offer primarily face-to-face teaching. But she added that the experience of the pandemic had revealed “elements of online provision which are really valuable and really useful”. “So, there will be elements of online provision where it suits students and where it works, in terms of quality of teaching, but primarily it is face-to face-teaching.” The OfS, in short ,will looking at the quality of provision whether or not it’s face-to-face or online.
The UPP Student Futures Commission ,in its interim report, published recently, said ‘ It is clear from the evidence that many institutions genuinely believe blended learning has real potential, and they wish to continue some of the progress they have made as a result of the pandemic for the benefit of students.’ Nothing wrong with that. But the Commission also notes that there is a perception out there that universities are currently short changing students . So, there needs to be much more engagement with students on this issue. It also points to the need, more broadly, for better management of students expectations.
Universities, of course, have faced unprecedented challenges over the last 18 months , but its absurd to think that all have met these challenges equally well. They haven’t.
Looking ahead , Its is not at all obvious that most HE institutions will be offering, primarily, face to face teaching, in future, as predicted by the OfS . So, what will the OfS do then when that penny begins to drop?
As far as international competitiveness goes, a study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said that English universities charged more than publicly funded institutions in any other country, even though students often reaped lower economic benefits.
. Its education expert, Andreas Schleicher, suggested that students at English universities will expect to have much more than online lessons for such high fees. “Students go to university to meet great professors, to watch with colleagues, to experience a social life,” he told an event launching the OECDs ‘At a Glance Report’ which compares education systems around the industrialised world.
“If too much of university life remained online, he said, it would fundamentally challenge the “value proposition” of tuition fees.” Quite so.
Note .
The #StudentHappinessIndex, undertaken by @Endsleigh Insurance in partnership with the National Union of Students (@NUSUK), claims to be the first research project of its kind to delve into the concerns of students. Its key finding is that Undergraduate university students across the UK become less happy after their first year of study The Student Happiness Index report confirmed that undergraduates were largely unhappy this year. When asked to rate their contentment on a scale of 0 to 10, 40% of students scored themselves in the lowest bracket of between 0 and 3. In fact, the average life satisfaction score for the students surveyed was 5.9 out of 10, significantly lower than the national average of 7.1*. Furthermore, only a third (33%) of undergraduates said they were optimistic about life after university.
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