Framework for higher education unveiled

According to business, innovation and skills secretary Lord Mandelson: "Able people and bright ideas are the foundation stones of a thriving knowledge economy and, in the next ten years, we will want more, not fewer, people in higher education and more, not less, quality research. "We have made great progress in the number of young people going to university at 18 or 19 to do a three year degree. But the challenge for the next decade is to offer a wider range of new study opportunities – part time, work based, foundation degrees and studying whilst at home – to a greater range of people." The framework, called Higher Ambitions, sets out a strategy for universities to remain world class, providing the nation with the high level skills needed to remain competitive, while continuing to attract the brightest students and researchers. Key measures include: • More competition between universities, giving greater priority to programmes that meet the need for high level skills; • Business to be more engaged in the funding and design of programmes, sponsorship of students, and work placements; • Creating more part time, work based and foundation degrees to make it easier for adults to go to university, with routes from apprenticeships through to Foundation Degrees and other vocational programmes; • Encouraging universities to consider contextual data in admissions, as one way of ensuring that higher education is available to all young people who have the ability to benefit; • Universities setting out clearly what students can expect in terms of the nature and quality of courses offered; • Sustaining our world class research base by continuing to focus on excellence, concentrating research funding where needed to secure critical mass and impact; and • Encouraging collaboration between universities on world class research, especially in high cost science. Lord Mandelson said: "The Government wants universities to make an even bigger contribution to Britain's economic recovery and future growth. "We have therefore decided to give greater priority to programmes that meet the need for high level skills, especially in key areas such as science, technology, engineering and maths. There will be a greater element of competition between universities for new contestable funding as an incentive to fulfil this priority. With employers and universities, we will identify where the supply of graduates is not meeting demand for key skills. And we will seek to rebalance this by asking HEFCE to prioritise the courses and subjects which match these skills needs. "We will look to business to be more active partners with our universities. We want employers to be fully engaged in the funding and design of university programmes, the sponsorship of students, and offering work placements."