Decline in part-time participation
The decline in part-time participation in undergraduate degrees in England has received relatively little attention in debates on inequalities in higher education. Yet part-time undergraduate study has a vital part to play in widening participation, regional economic prosperity and social equality.1 It is primarily mature students who have been affected by this collapsing market in higher education. They are often in low paid, part-time and precarious employment and are driven to change their circumstances and improve their career prospects through further study.2 It is important that students, regardless of age or family and working circumstances, are able to access educational opportunities to improve their life chances.
Since 2010, the number of part-time undergraduate students in England has declined. By 2015 the numbers had fallen by 51%.3 This was primarily a consequence of changes to the funding regime, with increased tuition fees alongside the loss of maintenance grants (which are available for full-time students). But it is also a feature of the market: with universities receiving a greater income from full-time students, the motivation to deliver for part-time students is weak.
Although the government has recently relaxed the criteria for eligibility for student loans, and numbers of part-time students are rising again at some universities, the evidence suggests that a different funding approach is needed. Loans are an unhelpful way of funding part-time students who are more likely to be reluctant to take on debt because of existing financial and family commitments.
The support of employers is critical to the success of the part-time sector as they either contribute funding directly or offer flexible terms for employees to undertake courses. Between 2010 and 2015 there was a fall of 88% in the numbers of students at the Open University receiving employer funding.
Footnotes
- Universities UK. (2013) The power of part-time: review of part-time and mature higher education.
- Tim Blackman. (2020) Lifelong learning: time to fix the problem. Policy Exchange.
- Claire Callender and John Thompson. (2018) The lost part-timers: the decline of part-time undergraduate higher education in England. The Sutton Trust.
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