Mass higher education: a first stage model for the United Kingdom

Abstract

By the year 2000 it is planned that the participation rate in higher education in the United Kingdom will be 32 per cent, yet there has been no meaningful debate on how this can be achieved in an affordable way. It is expected that the present level of resourcing for higher education is insufficient to achieve the expansion required without change to the traditional operating characteristics of the system. Proposes adjustments to the existing system to ensure that the planned expansion can be achieved while maintaining an appropriate level of quality. The effectiveness of the proposed system is based on: opportunities offered to the population measured by the level of participation; the attainment measured by what is learned and the added value achieved; and the value for money measured by the unit costs. Financial projections indicate that reductions in unit costs can be achieved. The overall increase in total costs of 16 per cent between 1992 and the year 2000 is not judged to involve a significant increase in the UK′s commitment of 1.1 per cent of the gross domestic product spent on higher education.

Citation

Harvey, R.C. and Ashworth, A. (1995), "Mass higher education: a first stage model for the United Kingdom", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 6-13. https://doi.org/10.1108/09684889510098131