International comparisons in postgraduate education: access and widening participation

Transcription

1 Academic Registrars Council Postgraduate Practitioners Group 20 November 2015 International comparisons in postgraduate education: access and widening participation Report for HEFCE: International comparisons in postgraduate education: quality, access and employment outcomes Gillian Clarke and Ingrid Lunt Published online at: Australia England Germany India Norway Scotland Spain United States

2 Report summary Context for PG education in each country, focusing on HE environment and geo-political situation Three themes: quality; access; employment outcomes Case studies on seven countries Main report: how England performs compared with the other countries Conclusions and strengths and challenges by country

3 Numbers of PGT and PGR students by country, compared with total population and numbers of universities, showing PG as % of all HE awards (Table 1, p.8) Country Population Number of Universities Annual number of HE awards Annual number of PG awards (as proportion of total HE awards) Proportion of total number of PG awards (%) Australia 20,000, ,474 94,456 (31.5%) England 54,000, , ,915 (33.0%) Germany 82,300, ,244 85,367 (27.7%) PGR PGT India 1,270,000, ,706,755 2,653,344 (12.8%) 12.8 Norway 5,000, ,568 13,344 (32.9%) Scotland 5,200, ,305 25,350 (37.1%) Spain 46,500, ,583 54,663 (24.8%) United States 317,000,00 1,361 3,065, ,788 (30.2%)

4 Today s focus Summary and definitions: Examples of fair access and WP initiatives in PG education Quotations from respondents on access at PG level Conclusion and discussion: some of the challenges

5 Summary: fair access All countries appear committed to fair access Strategies are highly context-specific, barriers continue to exist and progress is slow PG entrants selected on basis of academic achievement Some countries demonstrate commitment to access through flexible and lifelong learning schemes and use of credit Others focus on widening participation to achieve fair access

6 Fair access or widening participation? Our definitions for the purpose of the report are: Fair access: initiatives taken to remove financial and other barriers to provide opportunities to students who have the academic potential to succeed in PG programmes Widening participation: may involve adjusting entry requirements to facilitate the participation of under-represented groups (and can also include financial support)

7 Fair access by country: Australia, India and the US Historical commitment Government WP targets Expansion linked with social justice Caution re deficit model Tertiary Admission Ranks correlate with socio-economic status Poverty and debt key factors Status of UG institution affects PG entry Gender issues Fair access: major government objective Affirmative action Very low tuition fees for home students University interns UK PG scholarships Historical commitment Role of community colleges and credit Opportunities for part-time study and TAs McNair Post-Bacc Program Federal repayment loans Australia India United States

8 Fair access by country: mainland Europe National aim to ensure equal opportunities to HE for all students No tuition fees Norway Loans for living costs Grants for students with children and for parental leave Federal Training Assistance Act (state grant + loan) Research assistantships Germany scholarships for gifted students (public/private) Wide range of private scholarships Germany National and university grants including fee waivers Regional university access Low tuition fees Grants for low-income students Some part-time study Spain

9 Fair access by country: Scotland and England Action on Access Lifelong learning initiatives PG tuition fee loans Easy pathways to facilitate access Domination of students with ability to pay? Scotland Lack of funding a barrier to access? Decrease in applicants for part-time study Early encouragement for PG study needed PGT loans introduced Plans for income-contingent PhD loans Subject differences? England

10 Quotations from respondents 1: funding [Financial] Postgraduate support for widening participation might happen at institution level (A) Students may not want to accrue more debt some can avoid debt by working while studying (A) [There are] financial barriers; [students] can t work full-time and be full-time students (A) As soon as you talk about research [degrees], funding affects fair access (A) It s too soon to say whether debt will affect PGR entry (E)

11 Quotations from respondents 2: strategy and p/t study A PhD is a good investment; you are more likely to get a job, and a better job, with a doctorate (E) Some universities use Research Council funding to support strategic access initiatives for PhDs (E) Centres for doctoral training can help drive quality and diversity of students (E) At doctoral level funding agency and private foundation support is for 3 years only so PhDs have to work part-time (G) Mid to late career PhD candidates tend to do their PhD part-time because they don t want to live on a stipend (A)

12 US doctorate full- and part-time graduate enrolments by subject, 2012t graduate students Source: Figure 29: Council Full- and of part-time Graduate graduate Schools, enrolments 2012 by subject 2012 (CGS, 2012)

13 Quotations from respondents 3: status In the US more than in other countries, [there are] more opportunities at different times in your life to go to graduate school and get a doctorate (US) There are issues that need to be addressed: class system, culture, social structures, expectations (E) [Another issue is] family self-image it is not just about the quality of schools (US) People from lower socio-economic backgrounds are at a disadvantage even if they enter [PG programmes] because they lack the skills of richer students (US) Higher education qualifications are a leveller (US) PGR is less sensitive to access issues (E) WP [status] doesn t stay with the person as they progress through UG and master s; illness, stress and sometimes visa status are more important (E) Access is a big issue for undergraduates; not so much for postgraduates (A)

14 Impact of funding choices on access STUDENTS: Fewer or smaller studentships? Combining work and study: impact on completions? Perceptions of p/t degrees International student emphasis? GOVERNMENT: Funding choices based on research excellence? Effect on UK s international research impact? Unlikely to target funds for under-represented groups? UNIVERSITIES: Hard decisions re prioritisation of funding? Need for more flexible study patterns to accommodate work and study? Reliance on income from international postgraduates

15 Entry route BA M Soc Sci Int. M physical sci BSc biol sci Training model Examples of four English PhD entrants 1+3 AHRC funded PhD in a collaborative doctoral training partnership of 4 universities (multi-site DTC). Intensive master s training in research methods supported by online materials; some travel to partner institutions.; formal upgrade from master s to doctoral degree at end of first year or leave with MPhil 3.5-year self-funded PhD, enrolled in institutional Doctoral College and part of faculty Graduate School. Shared research methods modules with master s students. Switch to part-time mode beginning of year 3 to combine study with part-time work for financial reasons 4-year EPSRC funded Industrial PhD; research topic generated by industrial partner; candidate concurrently PhD candidate and company employee; training split between university (research methods and professional development) and industry (approved modules, e.g. industrial relations); one institutional and one industrial supervisor. 4-year BBSRC funded PhD in single institution DTP; part of faculty graduate school; shared research methods modules with PhD candidates from five strategic research areas; programme includes 3-month PIPS professional internship, working in an area unrelated to PhD topic

16 Conclusion and discussion Is lack of fair access compromising postgraduate student recruitment? What is the impact of funding strategies on doctoral degrees? How do we encourage students from underrepresented groups to aspire to postgraduate study? Does background remain an issue for PGR entrants? Can we learn from strategies in other countries?

17 References 1 Aamodt P.O. and Kyvik S. (2005) Access to higher education in the Nordic countries. In T. Tapper and D. Palfreyman (eds.) Understanding Mass Higher education. Comparative perspectives on access. London: Routledge Falmer Australian Government (2009) Transforming Australia s Higher Education System [Online] Available from: tem/pages/default.aspx [Accessed 10 July 2014] Bell, N. (2012) A Profile of McNair Scholars [Online] CGS GradEdge April 2012 Available from: [Accessed 15 June 2014] Bell, N. (2012) The Role of Community Colleges on the Pathway to Graduate Degree Attainment [Online] CGS GradEdge February Available from: [Accessed 15 June 2014] Béteille, A. (2007) Universities at the crossroads, Current Science, 92, 4, Federal Student Aid (2014a) Pell grants [Online] Available from: [Accessed 15 June 2014] Diamond, I. (2011) Some Challenges for Scottish Higher Education, Higher Education in Scotland: a critical topic, Hume Occasional paper No.90. Edinburgh: David Hume Institute Eurydice (2013) National Student Fee and Support Systems , Brussels: European Commission. Gale T. and Parker S. (2013) Widening participation in Australian Higher education. Report to the Higher Education Council for England (HECE) and the Office of Fair Access (OFFA) England. Gale T. and Tranter D. (2011) Social justice in Australian higher education policy: an historical and conceptual account of student participation. Critical studies in Education 52, 1, Gudmundsson H.K. (2008) Nordic Countries In M. Nerad and M. Heggelund (eds.) Toward a Global PhD? Forces and forms in Doctoral education worldwide. Washington: University of Washington Press.

18 References 2 HEFCE (2013) Postgraduate education in England and Northern Ireland: Overview report /14 [Online] Available from: 02 August 2013] Kyvik S. and Olsen T.B. (2013) Increasing completion rates in Norwegian doctoral training: multiple causes for efficiency improvement. Studies in Higher Education Moodle, A. (2012) US: Funding cuts, tuition hikes likely to define 2012, University World News [Online] Available from: [Accessed 16 June 2014] Moore, J., Sanders, J. and Higham, L. (2013) Literature review of research into widening participation to higher education, Report to HEFCE and OFFA by ARC Network, Bristol, HEFCE [Online]. Available from: [Accessed 14 July 2014) Nayak, D. (2014) Understanding the Logic of Neo-liberalism in Education. Economic and Political Weekly, XLIX, 13, Ostermann H. (2005) Bildung or Ausbildung? Reorienting German higher education In T. Tapper and D. Palfreyman (eds.) Understanding Mass Higher Education. Comparative perspectives on access. London: RoutledgeFalmer Patnaik, P. (2007) Alternative Perspectives on Higher Education, Social Scientist 35, 11/12, Tilak, J. (2013) Higher Education in the BRIC Member-Countries: Comparative Patterns and Policies, Economic and Political Weekly, XLVIII, 14, Universities Scotland (2014) Action on Access: recommendations to achieve further progress on widening access to higher education in Scotland [Online] Available from: [Accessed 12 July 2014] Wakeling, P. and Hampden-Thompson, G. (2013) Transition to higher degrees across the UK: an analysis of national, institutional and individual differences. York: Higher Education Academy. Watson, D. (2014) The Question of Conscience: Higher Education and Personal Responsibility. London: Institute of Education.

19 Thank you for listening