The Changing Face Of UK Education – 21st Century Learning Goes Online
Cast your mind back into recent history, say 30 years. Many young people studying for their ‘A’ levels in the UK were keen to go to university; what or where they studied was barely considered; have fun, get some mates, work like stink for a 2:1 in you final year and climb aboard the gravy train was the routine template they to which they adhered.
Many changes have occurred, sometimes rapidly. And these changes have taken place in so many areas of higher education:
Degrees are available at places other than universities: The expansion of the university system, the 1992 enfranchisement of polytechnics as universities, and the increase in the number of degree courses at technical colleges means that University is no longer the only option for those seeking a degree qualification. The expansion peaked around 1980 with education widely and freely available – since then the Government realised the numbers didn’t add up. The first casualty was the maintenance grant.
Student loans: First introduced to boost the grant and cut student overdrafts. From its initial average size of £390, it has grown to be an inevitability of post-graduate life. Loans were a consequence of changing political attitudes, and were designed to be affordable and thus continue to entice poorer students to apply to university following the abolition of the maintenance grant.
Once the political rubicon had been crossed with axing the grant however, it was inevitable the the loan system would be extended, with students now having to stump up for all or part of their tuition fees as well, which they were obliged to bolt on to their by now sizeable debt.
In 2004, the fees jumped from £1000 to £3000 pa. Since then the amount borne by the student has rocketed to its current maximum of £9000 pa. This state of affairs is justified by the recognition that graduates will earn more, on average over £100k across their lifetimes, than non-graduates.
At the time of writing (September 2011) it is estimated that the average student will pay somewhere in the region of 50k in tuition fees and maintenance following a 3 year degree course. Despite the possible increased earning power, the attraction of university is bound to recede.
Should we be surprised then that many potential students are eschewing expensive degree course for the cost-effective and flexible option of online courses? Distance learning is undoubtedly the way of the future, and the actions of universities and governments have only speeded up this inevitability.