1. UALL Conference Making the lifelong learning university a reality What do we know about part-time learners and the barriers they face: Initial findings from a UK-wide study John Butcher & Wendy Fowle, The Open University Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships Working for social justice in higher education www.open.ac.uk/accessobservatory

2.  2013/14 pilot study: The Open University and NUS Wales explored the Welsh part-time learner experience (online survey and ‘phone interviews) - ‘It’s About Time’ report (2014)  2014/5 study of part-time learner experience in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, funded by the Higher Education Academy, report end March.  Grateful to our research consultant Kate Thomas who conducted the interviews & to colleagues in CICP, IET and Strategy Office at the OU for their contribution Acknowledgements

3.  Contraction  Major decline in part-time UK HE sector since 201o, especially in England: 47% drop (33% headcount in 3 yrs)  Steep decline in ELQ students and public sector subjects. Foundation degree numbers dropped by 18%  Major drop (55%) in PT sub degree (credit, Certs, Diplomas) in last 3 years: increase in study intensity  Decline in UK PT UG market, initially driven by the reduction in financial support and austerity, exacerbated in England by the introduction of higher fees 7 student loans in 2012/13 Context: what is the problem?

4. 2012/13 HE registrations  418,165 PT UGs (23% of total in UK)  Decline of 8% on PT in previous year  ‘Severe and critical decline in part-time HE’ (OFFA) Divergence Overall decline mirrored in Celtic nations but less… Wales (24% drop since 2010) Scotland (7% decrease 12/13-13/14, higher in HE in FE) N. Ireland (5% decrease 12/13-13/14 but low numbers) The current numbers

5.  Any decline in PT numbers impacts disproportionately on learners from a Widening Participation background (the most economically disadvantaged) HE policy discourse dominated by ideological assertions about FT opportunities for 18 year olds paying high fees Knowledge gap around the experiences of, and barriers faced by, part-time students - policy-makers need to hear their authentic voices – who they are, their motivations, barriers they face Issues

6. Online survey with sample of students, identified by OU, in England, Scotland and NI – 433 responses Online survey with students in F2F universities & FE identified as significant part-time cohorts - 1134 responses 1567 responses in total  Respondents invited to volunteer for follow-up phone interview  21 semi-structured 1-1 interviews and a focus group conducted by phone, recorded and transcribed Data collection

7. PT HE students are a very heterogeneous group:  Majority women, half had caring responsibilities  30% + first in their families to study in HE (60% non-OU)  Geographical isolation reported (Wales)  Poverty/disposable income affected choice  Impact of disability/long-term health impairments (22%)  Quantitative findings Who studies part-time?

8. ‘Choosing’ PT is ‘Hobson’s choice’, PT was the only possibility, many would have preferred FT  Cost of full-time too expensive (debt-averse) & FT lacked flexibility to meet personal circs  Studying to improve employment prospects  Low risk first steps in HE if missed out at 18 Quantitative findings Why study part-time?

9. What barriers faced in studying part-time? Financial – debt/borrow from family/savings Fewer employers (15%) supporting study Juggling time commitments v institutional inflexibility Lack of advice, or confusing information about progression, accreditation, funding Quantitative findings What is part-time learning like?

10. As well as the cost of PT study being regarded as a significant barrier, 5 key themes emerged: Headline findings

11. The necessity to balance time for study with competing personal/professional demands impacts on the PT experience: over a third had missed a formal element of their course, due to work or caring Claims made for ‘ flexibility’ by policy makers need to be better understood by providers– some interviewees felt they were an ‘inconvenience’, were ‘shoehorned’ or ‘side-lined’ and a lack of differentiation felt like ‘1 size fits all’…and the prior skills they brought were not recognised. Flexibility a problem in PT

12. Confirmation that employability is one of the key drivers for PT study, (aspirations for new job, change of job, women in particular seeking to improve current career) but irrelevant policy discourse aimed at 21 year-olds seeking graduate careers However, noteworthy that enjoyment of subject almost as significant, and intellectual challenge significant for older (50+) learners. Motivation(s)

13. There is a vacuum to be filled around notions of a community of PT learners Majority of PT learners would not describe themselves as ‘students’ – those who would, likely to be at youngest and oldest ends of spectrum, others indifferent, or regarded themselves as ‘too old to be a student’ (including a 21-year old), or saw impact only in the NUS card providing reduced cinema tickets. Very little interaction with other students reported, and disengagement from institutional support structures Part-time culture

14. There is inadequate public information about PT qualifications pathways, delivery modes, workload and financial support. This remains a barrier, especially funding. Inadequate IAG can lead to PT students relying on savings, paid work, or personal debt to pay fees: this varies by nation Information, advice, guidance

15. Men more likely to be studying Engineering, technology, IT, and interviewees described work- related upskilling Women more likely to be studying Education, Health, Humanities, interviewees reporting ‘doing something for me…falling in love with it’ An interviewee studying Maths reported an aspiration to ‘overcome disrupted schooling’ Interviewees (male and female) studying Art reported an immersive experience (even PT) related to personal lifestyle – insistent not leisure learners Disciplinary differences

16. Heterogeneity of PT learners needs to be recognised by policy makers in definitions and discourses – they are not a single homogeneous entity  Greater flexibility needs to be embedded for learners in PT curriculum design & institutional support: distance learning can be flexible, but feels isolated  Employability agendas in HE need to acknowledge PT adult learners are self-aware about personal employability aspirations (and employer support need not just be financial)  PT learners remain motivated by love of subject and intellectual challenge Conclusions

17. ‘The part-time market risks operating in neither the interests of students, employers, nor the economy’ Universities UK, 2013, 1  Incentivise Universities to prioritise & promote PT HE as an attractive choice, not just ‘infill’  Enhance Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) to help PT students make right course/progression choices, support personalised employability aspirations, reduce complexity of funding/support Recommendations

18. Butcher, J & Rose-Adams, J (2015, in press) Part-Time Learners in Open and Distance Learning: Revisiting the Critical Importance of Choice, Flexibility and Employability, Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 2 Higher Education Funding Council for England (2014) Pressure from all sides: Economic and policy influences on part-time higher education, [online] : http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2014/201408d/HEFE2014_08d.pdf http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/pubs/2014/201408d/HEFE2014_08d.pdf Rees, K & Rose-Adams, J (2014) ‘It’s about time’, http://www.open.ac.uk/wales/research/nus-wales http://www.open.ac.uk/wales/research/nus-wales Woodfield, R (2014) Undergraduate retention and attainment across the disciplines, Higher Education Academy: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/10293?utm_source=The+Higher+Education+Academy &utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5421941_EEDCMar15 https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/node/10293?utm_source=The+Higher+Education+Academy &utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5421941_EEDCMar15 Universities UK (2013) The power of part-time: Review of part-time and mature higher education. http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2013/PowerOfPartTime.pdf http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2013/PowerOfPartTime.pdf References