COALITION OF MODERN UNIVERSITIES
SUBMISSION TO THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO HIGHER EDUCATION (1996)
The Coalition of Modern Universities is a grouping of Universities which share the same values, purposes and priorities in higher education. They were originally formed by a group of polytechnics following the 1992 Education Act but the Coalition is open to all universities which have similar missions. The list of universities supporting this submission is attached.
The Coalition urges the Committee to emphasise the benefits to individuals the economy and wider society of the diverse higher education system which has been created over the past decade. The Coalition agrees with those who argue that in looking towards the next 20 years the Committee should also seek to preserve and enhance the best of what has been achieved in the past. This must include however, the important contributions made by modern universities exemplified as follows.
Students
Modern Universities pioneered wider access in terms of gender, ethnicity, educational background and social class. They remain committed to tackling the continuing challenge of providing learning opportunities to all who might benefit and look to the Committee's support in meeting this challenge.
Mode
The vast majority of part-time enrolments outside The Open University are in Modern Universities. The distinction between full and part-time modes in funding needs to be removed, through the creation of a credit-based funding system.
Curriculum Structure
Modern Universities were the chief innovators of flexible modular programmes and credit accumulation and transfer schemes to provide flexible entry and exit routes and progression routes. The enthusiasm for innovation remains strong.
Curriculum Content
Modern Universities are proud of their tradition of employment-related professional and vocational provision. They look to the Committee to emphasise and strengthen the importance of this provision in the future. Members support the search for a new language that will remove the academic/vocational divide in higher education and commend the concept of applied learning.
Pedagogy
Innovation in learning styles has been a characteristic of the student experience in Modern Universities. This is reflected not just in the creative use of information and communications technology but in project and group work, work experience and work-based learning.
Quality and Standards
Through involvement with the CNAA and HMI the Modern Universities have a tradition of critical scrutiny of quality and standards. They are also comfortable with the concept of public accountability. It is from this base of experience that members believe that the balance between accountability and trust needs to be re-assessed in terms of the burden being placed on Universities.
Research
Up until the late 1980s the former polytechnics did not receive institutional funds for research. The amount received since then has been small amounting to about 5 per cent of the total. Yet they have contributed enormously to the universities research record, and to the UK economy by concentrating on applied research, end-user research and technology transfer.
These forms of research activity, despite the Technology Foresight exercise, remain under-valued and under-funded. The research needs of higher education and the country seem to be dominated by the views and self-asserted needs of the small group of universities which receive the bulk of public funding. Modern Universities look to the Committee to support good research wherever it may be found, and to argue the value of applied research proposing mechanisms by which it might receive greater support.
Wider Relationships
Modern Universities while operating nationally and internationally derive great strength from their local and regional roots. The contribution they make goes beyond the employment and spending power they bring to their local economies. Through their commitment to part-time higher education, continuing professional development, applied research and technology transfer and their experience over decades of working with local groups Modern Universities make a distinctive contribution to the regeneration of their communities. The Committee is urged to propose mechanisms whereby this contribution can be strengthened.
Partnerships
This long experience of working in and with their local communities ensures that partnerships rather than isolation is second nature to Modern Universities. This is reflected in our relationships with other universities, schools and further education colleges, community groups, cultural groups, and business groups. These partnerships are essential to enable us to deliver the different parts of our mission set out in this memorandum.
Summary
The Modern Universities are proud of the contribution they have made to the development of higher education over the past two decades. They have been in the vanguard of the changes to the student population, curriculum structures, content and pedagogy, accountability for quality and standards, applied research and technology transfer, and local partnerships and relationships which have created the vitality and diversity of the system of 1.6 million students we have today. The characteristics of the Modern Universities are essential to enable higher education to increase its contribution to the United Kingdom, economic, cultural and ethical well-being into the 21st century. We look forward to the Committee's report and recommendations confirming the continuing strength of the Modern University tradition.