Delivery Director, Bluefin Solutions
Public Sector
The Browne review - response from Chris Smith, Bluefin Solutions
15 Oct 2010
Higher Education, Public Sector
In a much anticipated move to increase university funding, the Browne review proposes that the cap on university fees should be lifted (The Guardian, 12 October 2010). Under this new model, students will dictate which universities prosper through their own experiences. The idea being that universities providing a better quality of service will have greater demand and potentially charge higher fees.
Whilst in many ways applying these types of market forces is a step in the right direction, the bigger concern is whether there will be a sea change in our university system. Moreover, without taking evasive action in the way universities are actually run, the lift on capping may just end up giving students more of the same but at a much higher cost.
The negative publicity surrounding student satisfaction rates from the National Students Survey (published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, 18th August 2010), is a firm indicator of the fact that a continued increase in university fees has not yet been matched by a quality of service. A major challenge across the entire university system is bureaucratic management processes leading to vast inefficiencies in administration. Red tape prevents students from benefiting from the most basic requirements such as an accurate and complete lecture timetable on the day their course begins. This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to inefficiency.
More worryingly, these issues increase despite the fact that the vast majority of operations are underpinned by technology designed to improve the system. A lift on fee capping may allow vice chancellors to throw money at the problem. However, as has been the case to date, if one highly subscribed and well-funded course or department improves over others that are less ‘attractive’, the entire system is at risk of meltdown.
Only by placing technology at the heart of the student experience, it is possible to address these issues. Moreover, if the future of our university system is to truly place the ‘student in the driving seat’ the entire model should be aligned to meeting this goal. Anything else is akin to straightening the deck chairs on the titanic.
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