Policymakers must disincentivise students from taking full-time honours degrees if the lifelong learning entitlement (LLE) is to be successful, a former vice-chancellor has argued. ?

At a time when the value of a degree is being repeatedly questioned, a new report from the ÌÇÐÄVlog Policy Institute (Hepi) argues that too many students are enrolled in full-time programmes, leading to concerns that higher education is ¡°over-consumed¡±.

Tim Blackman, former vice-chancellor of The Open University and author of the report, writes that higher education must respond to the ¡°converging crises of climate change, fractured epistemological worlds and unsustainable economic activity¡±.

For the latter, he warns that higher education is being funded by budget deficits and ¡°while it is understandable that the sector is calling for more funding, we need to address the argument that we may be over-consuming higher education¡±.

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¡°To optimise the return, the higher education sector must address its productivity, ensuring that it focuses efficiently and effectively on what matters, and a sustainable economy really matters,¡± he writes.

A rethink of the higher education system is needed, Blackman argues, to dial up participation in shorter qualifications, the content of which should be focused on building a sustainable economy.

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¡°We also need professional and occupational bodies to reduce their volume of content requirements, especially for entry qualifications, recognising the trade-off between focusing on what is really essential and expecting later updating or specialisation,¡± the report says.

¡°Transitioning to this model would better enable continuous learning over a working lifetime, rather than concentrating borrowing and educational effort into a single early-career stage.¡±

Blackman warns that the LLE ¨C England¡¯s?plan to move to a new model of student finance?¨C may be unsuccessful ¡°without a comprehensive policy approach that shifts professional, occupational and disciplinary requirements to what is essential and disincentivises full-time degrees as the initial qualification¡±.

Labour¡¯s recent skills White Paper called for degree ¡°break points¡± to be considered, with those exiting courses after a year or two still achieving formal qualifications at level 4 and 5 even if they never complete the full programme.

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Other qualifications such as Higher National Diplomas have mostly failed so far because ¡°the honours degree retained its ¡®higher¡¯ status, often presenting no higher upfront cost for students than shorter qualifications¡±, Blackman writes in the report.

¡°Without wider policy measures, the sector will continue with the full-time honours degree because of how its popularity and mode of provision make it cost-effective for providers compared with the overhead of managing more diversity with uncertain demand.¡±

Other recommendations in the report include establishing a new national code that recognises ¡°a special status for academic knowledge¡± to help confront misinformation and driving universal participation in a reformed version of higher education.

Blackman said Labour¡¯s?commitment to two-thirds of young people entering higher level education?and training is ¡°welcome¡± but ¡°higher education needs to be universal, like secondary education¡±.

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¡°Sustainable economic growth depends on wide participation in acquiring high levels of skill and knowledge ¨C including working with artificial intelligence ¨C and our ability to act as a society on the risks we face depends on respect for evidence and openness to criticism being universal and not confined to conversations among scientists.¡±

Hepi director?Nick Hillman said: ¡°This report deserves to be read by every policymaker, vice-chancellor and university governor because its bold and radical ideas paint a completely different future.¡±

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helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com