How do we group higher education providers and students?

Marieke Guy and Simon Carpenter

R&I Away Day21st January 2016

Grouping things…• Typology – the study

of types

• Classification – the action of classifying something

• Clustering – grouping according to similarities

Providers - the QAA

perspective

• Funding body (DEL, HEFCE, HEFCW, private, SFC)• Type of funding (direct, indirect) • Type (FEC, University/HEI, private)• Teir4, course designation, degree awarding powers,

University title• Course levels• Subscriber or non subscriber• Review outcome, quality mark• Student numbers (FT, PT), student type

(undergraduates, graduates, research), student domicile, campus locations

• Legal issues

The Institutional perspective

• Membership of body (Russell group, GuildHE, IUG, University Alliance, 157Group, ACU, Million+, Universitas21, Independent Universities Group… )

• Regional and geographic groupings• Time of establishment/architecture• Research (REF) or teaching focused (TEF)• University, University College, University of London• Specialism (art, sport…), faith based• Distance learning• Size (large => 25,000 students, small =<15,000)• Global, industry links• Self declared excellence (technology)

What’s the uniting feature of members?

Ancient University

Red brick or civic

Red brick chartered

Plate glass or 1960s

New university

Pre 1800s 1800 -

1900 1900 - 1963 1963 -

1992 Post 1992

• Carnegie classification• Howells et al:

Research led, third mission Local access Elite research London metropolitan High teaching growth Research orientated, teaching growth

• More???

Current research…

The student perspective

• Campus type, size and setting (city, metropolitan, surburban, small city, collegiate, campus)

• Location• Student profile (social status, widening

participation…)• Course offerings• League table rating• Satisfaction rating (NSS)• Entry standards (UCAS tariff)• Employability rating• Other metrics…

Do students all have the same approach to HEPs?

“…my gut instinct is that we don’t actually have enough information about the students we are admitting.”

(Louise Richardson Vice-Chancellor University of Oxford)

Need a more comprehensive typology of students …A start: • Baby boomers (born between 1945 to 1960ish)• Generation X (born between 1960s to the early

1980s)• Millennials/ Generation Y (born between 1980 and

2000)• Generation K or Z (born between 1995 and 2000ish)

Thoughts so far :

• Stepping stone (to another college/HEP)• Pure academic • Exploratory (personal and career)• Career advancers• Looking for vocational qualifications• Skill upgrading• Need (have to do something)• Degree seeking

(behaviours, not demographic)

Clark and Trow (1966)Involvement with ideas or involvement with institutionFour subcultures:

• Vocational• Academics• Collegiate• Nonconformist

Kuh, Hu and Vesper (2000)

• Disengaged• Recreator• Socializer• Collegiate• Scientist• Individualist• Artist• Grind• Intellectuals• Conventionals

So what is the relevance for R&I?

• Understanding the sector better• Understanding our stakeholders better• Going beyond metrics… (see the Metric Tide)• Implications for TEF, reviewing etc. • Positioning on ideas related to the level playing field,

one size fits all, risk-based review etc.• Myth busting • Supports the I in R&I!

What next?

• More thinking!• Comprehensive lit search• Possible paper?• Applying this to R&I work?• More on alternative

providers• Any other ideas?

“We have a genius for turning difference into hierarchy”David Eastwood, chair of the Russell Group

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