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What do we mean by tertiary education?
Last updated on Wednesday 30 Oct 2024 at 12:41pm
There has been an increasing policy focus on tertiary education ever since the Government appointed Philip Augar back in 2018 to conduct ‘a major review across post-18 education and funding to ensure a joined-up system that works for everyone’.
In the years since, we have seen the Welsh Government set up a Commission for Tertiary Education and Research, the Association of Colleges calling for colleges, universities and other providers to be regulated through a single tertiary system and Labour’s Report of the Council of Skills Advisers arguing that: ‘Post-16 learning, both vocational and academic, must be seen as a seamless pathway through apprenticeship, further and higher education’.
The most significant recommendation from the Augar review that has been carried forward – the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) – will, once implemented, unite the loan system between colleges and universities. This, coupled with the fact that there are now at least 25 colleges on the Office for Students Register, with more likely to join via the proposed new registration category for Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) providers, seems to have given the sector a sense that a tertiary sector is now a foregone conclusion.
What is tertiary education?
What we are still lacking, however, is a clear consensus about what, exactly, tertiary education is. Without such a definition, we will be hampered in developing proposals that don’t simply try to join up bits of the existing provision – but articulate a clear vision for the development of coherent skills system that meets the needs of learners, institutions and employers.
When we talk about tertiary, are we referring to everything that comes after compulsory education? Education for those age 16 and up? Aged 18 and up? All qualifications at Level 4 and above? Or are we simply talking about joining up our further and higher education sectors more closely?
How can tertiary education be defined?
There are two potential starting points that appear to be used when attempting to approach a definition of tertiary education.
The first is to define it by level. This tends to assume that tertiary education relates to post-compulsory education and focuses on all Level 4 courses and above whether they are delivered in college, universities or training providers. A tertiary system would then be about ensuring smooth transitions and clear learning pathways for Level 4+ qualifications at the regional level by supporting local universities and colleges to develop agreements that, for example, ensure a Higher National Certificate (HNC) studied in a college would enable advanced entry to the local university if progression at the college was not possible.
An alternative would be to define tertiary by need. This looks at all the core qualifications taken by individuals who have completed their post-compulsory education.
An alternative would be to define tertiary by need. This looks at all the core qualifications taken by individuals who have completed their post-compulsory education.
This would include a significant number of the 1.3 million adult (19+) learners who are currently in funded further education and other skills participation, and would require designing a system that has clear routes into and not just through Level 4+ qualifications.
Both these approaches have their limitations, however, since they don’t necessarily take into account the intended aims behind creating a functional educational system. We need to take into account the role of institutions, regulation and process plus individual, business and societal needs with the tertiary education landscape.
We need to take into account the role of institutions, regulation and process plus individual, business and societal needs with the tertiary education landscape.
Currently the siloed thinking of those working within different parts of our skills system can prevent us from coming up with simple solutions that consider these different dimensions. Why, for example, is Level 4 only considered suitable for delivery in colleges and universities?
In areas where there is limited FE and HE presence, for example, technical-focused sixth-forms linked to colleges could help to rapidly increase the number of Level 4 qualified learners within a given area to meet the needs of local industry. Our funding regime currently does not support this kind of innovation and if we are to deliver for the future, we cannot develop a system that is focused solely on the past.
What framework could be put in place?
Secondary education – Post-primary education which is provided during the years of compulsory schooling. In England, this is up to age 16 with Key Stage 3 for ages 11–13 and Key stage 4 for ages 14–15. At the end of Year 11 (at age 15 or 16, dependent on a student’s birthday), students typically take General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams or other Level 1 or level 2 qualifications.
Tertiary Education – Education that occurs post-secondary, with the intent of supporting progress to further study or work, and which is delivered by a range of specialist organisations with clearly defined missions. The purpose of considering tertiary education would be to help ensure appropriate bridges between its two component parts – higher and further education.
Higher education
This is generally defined as Level 4+ in the Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) and is often consider tertiary. The World Bank, for example, includes higher education under the banner of tertiary. It includes prescribed courses, such as those that are credit bearing and developed by degree awarding bodies through the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) but also those that are non-prescribed and often delivered by colleges. These latter qualifications are on the RQF, are often shorter in length than prescribed qualifications, usually vocational and attract more part time, older students looking to upskill and retrain. An example of an unprescribed course would be a City & Guilds Level 4 Diploma in Business and Professional Administration.
If the LLE progresses, students, and education providers will be able to seek loan funding for both types of qualification. It therefore follows that both universities and colleges will be delivering recognised Level 4+ qualifications under the auspices of the Office for Students.
Further education
This is additional education to that received at secondary. It may be at any level from entry to higher level qualifications and includes a variety of awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications for people aged 16+. Further education has its own sub-specialisms given the wide range of activities undertaken.
It is evident that our skill system as it is currently constituted is not working. There are numerous dead-ends, qualification overlaps, duplicated regulation and huge numbers of adult learners that require upskilling. If this definition is accepted then we can start to consider how, in this context, we balance national coordination with local delivery, how we support institutional specialisms and how we can simplify the system and remove sector wide duplications and redundancy.
UUK is currently exploring the role that universities can play in the tertiary education landscape. If you have any comments, please get in touch with us at [email protected]