Full article here – https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2017/nov/01/2vcs-on-how-do-we-stop-part-time-numbers-dropping-further
Extracts below:
Numbers of part-time students, who are typically older and often juggling a job or family, or both, have more than halved. They are down 56% since 2010, according to the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
Part-time enrolments in England slumped in 2012 when the government raised the cap on fees, doubling or even tripling the cost of many courses. To counter this, tuition fee loans were offered to part-timers for the first time. But research shows about two-thirds of students weren’t eligible.
“We need to think about the needs of a workforce that might be hungry for a different kind of lifelong learning,”.
“As people stay at work for longer and change jobs more often, we need to loosen up who comes in and out of universities.” “This means focusing more on continuing professional development, including some learning that won’t end in a certificate”.
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