Incentivise shorter courses over full-time degrees, says former Open University VC

Professor Tim Blackman’s new report for the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) suggests that full-time honours degrees are an outdated form of study that do not provide people with lifelong skills and knowledge.

The report, titled ‘A Call for Radical Reform: Higher Education for a Sustainable Economy’, contributes to the growing concern about the value of going to university.

It follows Starmer’s scrapping of Tony Blair’s target of getting 50% of young people into higher education, as well as a study by Kings College London, which found that a third of students feel that university did not enhance their career prospects.

Tim Blackman, former Vice-Chancellor and Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at The Open University, proposes that a new higher education system, which incentivises shorter qualifications, would tackle these issues by providing people with more practical skills that contribute to building a sustainable economy.

Higher education needs to be universal, like secondary education

Prof. Tim Blackman, Former VC and Emeritus Prof. at The Open University

By studying in the format of shorter courses, Blackman says that the cost of higher education would be spread overtime into more manageable chunks, while simultaneously “encouraging lifelong updating of skills and knowledge”.

This contrasts with the current system, which leaves students with significant debt and a large volume of content to digest over three or four years.

While Blackman’s report recognises improvements in the post-16 education policy, such as the recent pledge to join up the skills and employment systems for the benefit of young people, he emphasises the need for higher education reforms.

Its bold and radical ideas paint a completely different future

Nick Hillman, HEPI Director

He claims that “higher education needs to be universal, like secondary education”, and that this is only achievable through a more accessible and sustainable system.

A radical system transformation like this, according to Blackman, would significantly enhance the success of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) initiative, which was launched in September 2020.

The government scheme aims to increase access to high-quality, flexible post-18 education by providing financial support under a cohesive system that drives economic growth while improving the living standards of working people.

HEPI director Nick Hillman has praised the report, saying it “deserves to be read by every policymaker, vice-chancellor and university governor because its bold and radical ideas paint a completely different future.”