The UK Higher Education System

(The Demand For HND BSc And BA)

In the United Kingdom, the quality of education has evolved with time. The quest for quality and productivity, institutions, employers and the government have been researching for a way to design and deliver quality education that is tailored to the employability of graduates. Certain courses and programmes have been designed with the business sector in mind. To give equal access to people of different backgrounds, the government of United Kingdom established Office for Fair Access (OFFA) to widen the participation in education to the less privileged people, including the disabled people, ethnic minority people and the mature students. The widening of participation in education is funded by The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). To control funding for higher education, the government through the HEFCE set the student numbers for higher education institutes. The placing of student limit varies between HE institutions; and the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) set the core competences through Quality Code for HE, chapter B1.

According to Wilson (2012), the government of the United Kingdom designed a policy to improve the quality of relationships between business and the higher education sector, titled Business-University Collaboration. This policy introduced the focus of vocational courses on employability. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in 2009 described employability as a set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all labour market participants should possess to ensure that they have the capability of being effective at the workplace. This ushered in a newly improved Higher National Certificates and Diplomas (HNC/D). To facilitate the collaboration between higher education and business, the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) was established to harness talent, research and development strength of both for economic benefits. This led to the establishment of The Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), being the partnership between Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) which supports institutions to engage in a broad range of activities with business, public sector and the community partners.

For employability, there are various courses and awarding institutions offering academic and vocational qualifications. One of these work-based qualifications is the Higher National Diploma (HND) awarded by Pearson BTEC. Pearson Educational Limited is an institution with degree awarding powers. The company acquired BTEC and Edexcel, and renamed their qualification as Pearson BTEC. Pearson BTEC courses are regulated by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), and followed the National Framework for Higher Education. Higher National Diploma is a qualification and credit framework (QCF) system. This means that it is regulated by Ofqual. The minimum credit point for HND is 240. The successful completion of one module is 15 credits. This has a Total Quality Time (TQT) of 150 hours of learning both in classroom and the associated activities.  Pearson BTEC courses are part of the short-cycle higher education programmes with a full-time duration of two years. HND is at Level 5 of the Framework for Higher Education Qualification (FHEQ). In line with the government policy, Pearson BTEC HND is a work-related (Vocational) higher education qualification, designed to teach the skills required in a particular area of work.

HND courses are aimed at those already in work, those wishing to embark on a career change and those who have already completed their A level qualifications. It is also aimed at mature students with work experience. At the end of two years, students are required to have completed and achieved sixteen modules and in some cases must have accumulated work-based hours of practical experience. In most cases, Pearson BTEC HND courses are assignment based, and students can achieve pass, merit or distinction. HND courses being qualification and credit framework (QCF), students are allowed for a one year full-time top up for a university degree. All qualifications for HND and BSC/BA are all funded by the government, managed by the Student Loans Company (SLC). On completion of chosen qualifications, UK students are not required to automatically begin the loan repayment until they have earned £18,000 for Scotland and Northern Ireland; and £22,000 for England and Wales, out of which the monthly repayments are £3 and £7 respectively. The government aim is not to collect loan repayments but to enhance the skills of UK workforce to compete with the growing demand of global competences in the workplace for quality productivity synergies, hence the reduction of financial burden on UK’s further and higher educational demands on students.

According to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Research Publication No. 203, December 2014, innovation activities play an essential role in determining a firm’s innovation output and productivity. BIS main research question is to assess whether, and how, these investments in innovation activities and intangibles not only affect the outcomes of the investing firm, the internal effects, but also generate knowledge spillovers affecting the innovation performance of other firms in the economic systems, the external effects. The objective of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is to include the estimates of these external effects and to assess their direction and significance along with the other direct relations linking innovative activities to productivity. To this aim, BIS construct a set of new variables capturing the spillovers taking place along different dimensions of the innovation activities (BIS, 2014).

The benefits of the reduction of financial burden on UK students help them to concentrate solely on the enhancement of their employability skills and competences. UK students can choose a Pearson BTEC HND on Business and or Health and Social Care to position themselves on the global job market. With a HND qualification students can top up for a BSc or BA degree to add values to themselves academically and vocationally.  There is no age limit and entrance qualification may be ‘being a mature student’ and the determination to take advantage of the government’s funding of higher education. One of the reasons for considering a HND qualification is that the government also offer financial help to those in low income bracket. This includes help for child-minding.

Being in full-time education does not mean that a student is in the college for five days a week. A full-time education is two or three days of classroom attendance, and of course, the associated activities off the college campus. It is advisable that one considers engaging himself or herself in the government funded education. The reason is to widen the participation, giving equal access of higher education to everyone. The benefits are enormous as it affects the individual, the employer and the wider economy socially and culturally. Funded higher education focused on employability is the best thing that happens to the UK population. It has both national and global advantage on the micro and macro economies; an educated workforce is better than the workforce of mediocrity. This will reduce ineptitude and nepotism at workplace and place healthy competition at the heart of UK’s economy. I therefore, recommend that one should consider engaging in a work-related higher educational programme that will enhance future employability. To be good is good.

For further reading on the UK education and funding, and for more enquiries, call me on +44(0)7448 712 854 or oguchi@michaelmartins.co.uk.

 

By: Oguchi Martins Egbujor MBA International Management

(UK Based Lecturer: Business Management, Health & Social Care)

Further Reading

White Paper on Higher Education: Students at the heart of education (BIS, 2011)

Further and Higher Education Act 1992

Article on Institutions Providing Adult Education and Training

Report on Higher Education Statistic Agency (HESA) what is a course, 2011

Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)

Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF)

Office for Fair Access (OFFA)

Higher Education Academy (HEA)

Review on Business-University Collaboration (Wilson, 2012)

National Centre for University and Business (NCUB)

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

Guidance on Modernising HE Career Education: a Framework for Good Practice 2002

Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR)

Framework for Higher Education Qualification (FHEQ)

The Student Loans Company (sfc)