Universities

‘Wasted potential’ of mature students

The Million Plus group says there is a “huge pool of untapped potential” among adults who missed out on university.   After fees increased in 2012, mature student numbers fell by 20%. Les Ebdon, head of the university access watchdog, backed calls to reverse this “very worrying trend”. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has launched […]

Tuition fee value for money: ‘I feel ripped off’

Asked by the new Office for Students if university tuition fees represent good value, are among a significant majority – 62% – who say they don’t think it’s worth the cost. The OfS spoke to 5,685 current higher education students in England and 534 recent graduates. When asked whether their overall investment in higher education […]

University drop-out rates in UK rise for third successive year

‘Depressing’ figures may be linked to higher fees in England, says education expert Full article here – https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/mar/08/university-drop-out-rates-uk-rise-third-year Extracts and comment below. Ray Brogden COO of Qualifi would like to point out that many students may fair better if they took an alternative route to a degree; a more cost effective model that enables learners to […]

Quarter of all UK undergraduates are commuter students

Research by The Sutton Trust charity based on data from all students in the UK shows around a quarter of all undergraduates are commuter students. The cost of going to university further away is identified as one of the main reasons for choosing to be a commuter student. Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: […]

Value for Money in Higher Education Debate

http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/59041300-32b4-4bed-b6c3-ce7d02982105 An interesting and enlightening discussion with thought-provoking contributions from a diverse group of representatives from FE and HE organisations. Alice Barnard of the Edge Foundation provided a great deal of constructive commentary regarding the wider issues facing the sector as well as observations about its future and actions that could and should be considered […]

Brexit: European universities increase English-speaking courses to prepare for influx of students, study suggests

European universities are increasing English-speaking courses to prepare for an influx of students who could seek alternatives to the UK as a result of Brexit, a new study suggests.  The total number of English-taught programmes in universities on the continent has risen by 13 percent in the last year. Ray Brogden, COO of Qualifi would like […]

Celebrating FE: New FE college category introduced for this year’s Whatuni Student Choice Awards

Ray Brogden, COO of Qualifi encourages all FE colleges to promote this among their HE L5 students. This demonstrates how quickly the HE landscape is changing, providing more choice for students in an increasingly competitive, quality assured and customer lead environment. Alternatives to the traditional 3-year undergraduate study programmes are available, fundable via Advanced Learner […]

Extension of Chinese and UK Education Partnerships

Theresa May’s announcement at the end of January of extended Education partnerships between the UK and Chinese Education Sector’s coincides with the Sino-British collaboration agreements established by PAM Education and Qualifi. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-to-set-out-ambitious-new-approach-to-uk-china-education In the last 12 months Qualifi and PAM Education have worked on programmes involving UK and Chinese partners that include: Chinese Culinary Arts […]

2VCs on…are university degree models stuck in the past?

Higher education needs to evolve from the lecture hall to encompass new technology and meet the needs of a diverse range of learners Full article here –  https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2017/nov/22/2vcs-on-are-university-degree-models-stuck-in-the-past Against a backdrop of crashing participation from mature and part-time learners, the government is urging universities to think hard about how they can reskill the workforce and encourage […]