Clause 17
Further Education and Training Bill [Lords]
4:15 pm
Bill Rammell (Minister of State (Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education), Department for Education and Skills; Harlow, Labour)
We have come to the most substantive element of the Bill, which some people regard asthe most controversial. Since the beginning of our deliberations, I have been clear that we need as much innovation and flexibility as possible within the further and higher education system in order to respond to the need of business for a higher level of skills. In that regard, we are absolutely right to say that highly performing further education colleges should be able to award their own foundation degrees.
I listened carefully to the concerns expressed, especially by higher education institutions such as universities. I bow to nobody in my respect and regard for the incredibly high quality of provision in our higher education institutions. It is an area in which we are genuinely world leaders. When the Associationof Colleges organised a debate in the Houses of Parliament, David Melville, the vice-chancellor of Kent university, who supports the Government’s proposals, reminded us that at every stage of the expansion of the higher education system there has been significant opposition from existing universities. He related the fact that when the university of London was created there was opposition from Oxford and Cambridge, and similar opposition when the red bricks were created and when the binary divide was removed.
Although there are some genuine concerns, there has at least been an impression of protectionism in some of the debates and discussions. That is wrong in principle, and unnecessary, because in respect of foundation degrees, we are talking about a substantially expanding market moving from about 61,000 qualifications today to 100,000 towards the end of the decade. The small print of the Leitch report and our likely response shows that we may move beyond that. It is important to put the proposal in that context and to address the concerns that have been raised.
A great deal of debate has been stimulated by the proposals, and I am grateful for the constructive approach of the Front Benchers from both Opposition parties and for the way in which they handledthe arguments and put forward their concerns. The Government have listened carefully and have responded to those concerns. The proposals on foundation degree awarding powers have been developed in response to the debate, and a number of Government amendments, tabled in another place, show that we are managing the risks associated with the new measures. It will help if I detail some of those changes.
First, we expect there to be a probationary period of six years during which time the ability of colleges with foundation degree awarding powers to authorise other institutions to make awards on their behalf or to award foundation degrees to students enrolled elsewhere will be restricted. Secondly, an independent report on the effect of the new powers will be made to Parliament within four years. The changes that we are making are important and significant, and it is right that a reportis made to Parliament on their impact. Thirdly, the non-statutory guidance and criteria for applicants have undergone careful revision in response to comments and suggestions.
I now turn to the thrust of Government amendment No. 2 and the question of progression or articulation between foundation degrees and programmes of more advanced study. That issue is exceedingly important, as it bears directly on issues of student experience and the protection of quality standards, which are a major concern.
When considering an application for foundation degree awarding powers, the Privy Council will take advice from the Quality Assurance Agency. The non-statutory draft guidance and criteria that have been circulated to members of the Committee will form the basis of the QAA’s assessment of an applicant institution. Consideration of progression arrangements will be one important aspect of that assessment. The draft guidance and criteria make it clear that progression routes are a core feature of all foundation degree programmes—they always have been, andthey will continue to be so regardless of where the qualification is awarded. The guidance states that progression is expected to be
“to at least one bachelor’s degree with honours, with an expectation that this should not normally exceed 1.3 years for a full time equivalent student in England, or to an appropriate professional qualification or other qualification at level 6 in the National Qualifications Framework”.
It is important not to forget that foundation degrees are a self-standing higher education qualification, and that many employers and learners value them as such. We should not devalue that through our language in debate. Nevertheless, opportunities for progressionto further study are exceedingly important. We are committed to education as a lifelong engagement, and foundation degrees open up opportunities for those who might not have gone into higher education through the traditional routes. The opportunity to study for a foundation degree locally at an FE college would be very appealing to many non-traditional students. The proposals will therefore help widen participation in higher education, which is fundamental.
Making progression arrangements is important in order to ensure that foundation degrees have an equivalent or equal academic value wherever the qualification is awarded. All students will have the opportunity to undertake more advanced study, wherever they choose to take their foundation degree.I certainly do not want a two-tier system of qualification.
Given the prominence of the issue and our concern to protect standards and student experience, we have committed ourselves to addressing the question of progression. My noble Friend Lord Adonis made that commitment on Third Reading in the other place, and I reiterated it on Second Reading in this House.
The Government amendments would prevent the Privy Council from making an order specifying that a further education institution in England is competent to grant foundation degrees unless it receives a statement from that institution setting out what arrangements it proposed so that students awarded one of its foundation degrees had the opportunity to progress to at least one course of more advanced study. The Privy Council must also consider whether the proposals are satisfactory and likely to be carried out. In a very significant way, that addresses some of the concerns that have been put forward.
As drafted, the amendment preserves the flexibility that is essential to allow innovation in the development of foundation degree programmes over time. My noble friend Lord Adonis stressed the importance of that flexibility when he committed to tabling an amendment. The Government amendment does not place substantially additional burdens on applicant institutions, which is important. Making a statement about proposals for ensuring progression would form part of the critical self-analysis that any institution applying for degree-awarding powers carries out, and it will also be the basis for any application for foundation degree-awarding powers.
I should also be clear that we are not introducing an entitlement progression from a progression degreeto more advanced studies. Admissions policies and procedures remain, rightly, a matter for individual institutions. The amendment means that in order to get foundation degree-awarding powers the applicant will have to show what it is proposing to do about providing appropriate opportunities for progression to more advanced programmes of study.
Opportunities must be available to any student who is awarded any of the institution’s foundation degrees, once it has foundation degree-awarding powers. The statement made by an application will need, in a very real sense, to look at the current situation, as well as be forward-looking. It will set out the institution’s strategy for securing progression arrangements for foundation degree programmes that it might establish in future, as well as those that have already been developed.
The Quality Assurance Agency places importance on establishing maintaining progression routes for foundation degree students. It has commented:
“The recommending of a institution for foundation degree awarding powers would be on the assumption that a further education institution would operate its powers in the manner anticipated when the application was assessed. The failure to ensure progression routes would be a serious matter, and might constitute grounds for QAA intervention.”