Date

Explore: Futures?

Dr. Ian Ground Explore Membership Scheme Leaderian.ground@sunderland.ac.uk

Can a university deliver higher education for the social good in the new funding climate?

"A little money can achieve a lot, particularly if we are prepared to innovate and to trust people at the front line to organise learning in ways that suit their needs rather

than conforming to some centralised model. “

John HayesMinister of state for Further

Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning 

Queen’s Speech Forum: Skills Strategy

10 Jun 2010

"A little money can achieve a lot, particularly if we are prepared to innovate and to trust people at

the front line to organise learning in ways that suit their needs

rather than conforming to some centralised model. “

John HayesMinister of state for Further

Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning 

Queen’s Speech Forum: Skills Strategy

10 Jun 2010

BackgroundThe Model

FinanceProgramme Structure

Aspects of ExploreMember BehaviourFeedback

PartnersFutures

A creative response to the ELQ crisis80% of our students debarred from HEFCE funding

Non-Negotiables of quality, affordability and sustainability

Background

The key to innovation was reclaiming our focus on why lifelong learning matters.

IndividualInterrogativeInteractive

Interdisciplinary

Background

How can provision be small (and therefore cheap)

on the insideYet large

(and therefore good value) on the outside?

The Model

Make the entire (but smaller) programme

all of it, available to all students all the time

Finance it on the model of a gym membership.

The Model

From the university’s point of view, it’s a much smaller programme and

so cheaper to deliver

But

From the student’s point of view, it’s much bigger and therefore better

value

The Model

E = MF/CCC = Fixed Costs of CentreCO = Fixed (?) costs overhead required by UniversityCV= Unit Venue CostsCT = Unit Teaching CostsCA = Unit Admin Costs.

Finance

C = (CC+CO) + (ECV+ECT+ECA)

CC = Fixed Costs of Centre

CO = Fixed (?) costs overhead required by University

CV= Unit Venue Costs

CT = Unit Teaching Costs

CA = Unit Admin Costs.

Finance

Programme Structure

 Start with 1600 hours of programme available across 4 seasons, all day, every day in 30

distinct academic subjects, 12 regular venues50% Open/50% Bookable

We guarantee the size of programme – no course cancellations.

Priority Bookings

Programme Structure

 Member pays:Seasonal membership fee equivalent to 25%

increase on 2008-9 fee for one 10 credit course

Around a fiver a week or less 

Membership buys: unlimited attendance at open courses

one priority on a bookable 10 hr seminars unlimited spare places on ‘Berliners’

opportunity for feedback (£15) or accreditation at extra cost

Ethos

IndividualInterrogativeInteractive

Interdisciplinary

Seasonal Skewing

Season One 35%

Season Two30%

Season Three26%

Season Four 9%

Member Behaviour

Member Behaviour

Member Behaviour

Distinct subjects

Members

Member Behaviour

I choose to come to talks where I know little or nothing, and have always come away stimulated to go and read more .. Also attend by Day - everything that dayVenueMuch less by subjectTutor still but we deliberately introduce variation in these open sessions

Feedback Systems

Move from paper-based to e-systemFrom terminal to continuous feedback

(summative to formative?)

Feedback Systems

Feedback Requests autosent to date: 5080Responses to date: 1362Response Rate: 31%

Partners

Newcastle - very busy cultural scene with some major players, serving a wider region, in a relatively compact city. Work with partners to

Lower CostsAccess to marketingReputation and leveraging of reputationThe universities are ‘partners’ too!The Engage! ProjectInternal Politics

Partners

2011 Explore Hours (ECT)

Tutor Hours: 1114Core Staff Hours: 390Cost Free Hours: 109Total Hours: 1613So tutor costs brought down to 70% of total hours

Partners

“BALTIC was very pleased to work with the North East Centre for Lifelong Learning as part of Explore. The 6-week course looking at the Turner Prize 2011 was a fantastic way into contemporary art for many ... For BALTIC, the course helped us to attract a new audience who may have been hesitant about visiting the gallery and who felt that contemporary art wasn’t for them. Being given the opportunity to spend time looking at the exhibition in a supportive and open environment has, I believe, opened up contemporary art and BALTIC to a new audience.”

Emma Thomas, Head of Learning and Engagement, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

Futures

Breaking through membership barriersPenetration in traditional marketNew Markets 1100 throughput500 Max Churn rate of about 15%

Simplifying the messageParticularities of the North-EastLarge number of cultural competitors.The general economic climateThe Pizza Paradox.

The Pizza Paradox

You want to buy a pizza and are happy to pay £4.00 for one. You have bought before at that price and are willing to do so again.Now as well as offering one pizza at £4.00, they offer 3 pizzas for a £10But you don’t have room in the freezer for 3 pizzasAnd now you don‘t buy one £4.00 pizza either.Why?The original offer is perceived to be devalued by the better offer even though, objectively, you still want the former and dont, for reasons other than perceived value, want the latter.

This is precisely parallel to the value psychology of some exiting Explore Members. “It was great but I could only do 20 hours a season and there was so much I couldn’t do, it wasn’t good value for me”

Explore• Explore remains financially fragile and dependent on the

commitment of the host institution. • But the Explore model is conceptually and operationally a success.

• provides a highly attractive student experience which reimagines the tradition

• can work in any location with easy access for a learning population – certainly the major conurbations

• fosters collaboration with regional cultural and community partners

• operates as a platform for intelligent and sustained research dissemination

• offers universities a way at minimal cost to engage with their regions and local populations, stimulate recruitment and challenge perceptions.

• is flexible enough to be structured around the needs of each university

What have we learned?

If adult learners are given what they want, in a context where the general quality is assured, they respond enthusiastically to have their own choices respected.There is a match between the best things about a customer model of service and traditional liberal adult virtues of ownership and inclusion.It is possible to develop new business models which have a chance of success in a sector without public funding.

UALL 2010 National Award for“creativity,

innovation, sustainability, impact and transferability”

More Information?

http://explore.sunderland.ac.uk/

thanks for your attention

Beacon and Research benefits

“Beacon North East partnership with NECLL’s Explore is an excellent

opportunity for academics to engage in two-way, mutually beneficial

dialogue with members of the lifelong learning community to enhance

access to research and academic expertise for wider society.”

Beacon North East Team

Feedback - Members

“Thank goodness for Explore. I was beginning to think continuing education was forbidden to anyone over 25! It’s a great scheme and I

am so enjoying it.”

Explore Member Rosie

“I am really enjoying the mixture of drop-in and bookable sessions; they fit so well into a

busy life!”

Explore Member Mary

✤ I have been attending Monday's 'Introduction to Philosophy' course. Last week I won at tribunal, in front of a judge and others, a successful appeal for ESA allowance on behalf of my son. In addition to a written submission, I used material taken directly from this course to argue his case. So the course does indeed help people, who as in my case have no background in philosophy, to solve real life dilemmas. I love the range of explore courses and only wish that I had enrolled earlier

✤ . Explore Member Barbara

Issues

•challenging target to meet for critical mass• transitional strain (identity, operations, reduction in

part-time teaching hours ….) •awkward fit of delivery model for rural areas and subjects

requiring small groups, such as ‘hands-on’ workshops•naïve public perceptions of cost and value – especially in

transitional era when unsustainable subsidized learning – e.g. Learning Revolution – is still intermittently available

Answering the Question

Q: Can a university deliver high quality public engagement in the form of lifelong learning in the new funding climate?

A: Yes. We believe we have found a new model of delivering lifelong learning that:

•can be financially sustainable•values learners and their needs

•re-imagines the lifelong learning ethos in a way that is transferable elsewhere

Answering the Question

"A little money can achieve a lot, particularly if we are prepared to innovate and to trust people at the front line to organise learning in ways that suit their needs rather

than conforming to some centralised model. “

John HayesMinister of state for Further

Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning 

Queen’s Speech Forum: Skills Strategy

10 Jun 2010

More Information?

• Briefing Notes• NECLL Brochure 2011

• http://explore.sunderland.ac.uk/