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HE in FE

Partnerships

FE colleges have formed strong partnerships with universities, with mutual benefits. This landscape is rapidly changing, due to new legislation, funding, auditing and strategic drivers. There are significant differences across the UK countries and cross-border partnerships add an extra dimension to change. Common considerations include:

• Colleges may be looking to obtaining their own degree awarding powers or forming new partnerships with private providers with degree awarding powers
• Universities may be looking to redistribute their student numbers and reducing/removing allocations to partner colleges
• Both colleges and universities may be looking to focus on fewer partners

Key to such considerations will be the underlying reasons behind such partnerships. Ones developed with a long-term view, based on contiguous missions, course development/provision or community support would appear to hold an enduring relationship where both sides are prepared to make short-term concessions for the long-term benefit of the other. Partnerships that are not based on such mutual gain may be more at risk from such considerations. Ian Tunbridge OBE, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Thames Valley University (now UWL) highlighted the risk to the future of opportunistic partnerships,"Caveat emptor to institutions that entered into relationships for other than strategically focused reasons."

SPA was delighted to contribute to the Progress South Central LLN Professionalising Admissions in HE in FE Conference in 2010, which brought together representatives from FE colleges, including Vice-Principals, and colleagues from partner universities. Based on an interactive session, and a similar one in Wales, which considered some of the issues in strengthening links, improving communication and embedding good practice, SPA has four recommendations for supporting admissions practice between partners:

• Partners should consider how their admissions can be organised to best fit their mutual strategic aims and utilise management, staff training and communication to support that organisational structure.
• Partners should collaborate to ensure information for applicants is not only accessible but is actually accessed. To start with, joint initiatives where the existing volume of information is low but need is high (e.g. part-time admissions; specific concerns of FE learners) will generally be easier to identify and have a greater impact.
• Where there are physical factors that impede regular communication on admissions matters between partners, or for those staff who do not need to be fully involved in procedural matters, co-ordinated activity should focus on those aspects of the partnership that are of most strategic importance (e.g. course information and progression agreements).
• Universities with several partner colleges and colleges with several partner universities should consider whether to adopt different integrated practices for each partner or find a ‘best-fit’ that includes all partners under one method. This may determine how formal or informal practitioner networks between partners need to be.

Analysis from the interactive session, HE in FE insight into the Applicant Experience as supplier, demander, partner and competitor, is available on our website. 92% of respondents on the feedback evaluation said they intend to follow up with a review, training or other initiatives within their own institution as a result of the conference. If you are interested in organising a similar event to support providers of HE in FE, please feel free to contact us.

Comments from the feedback evaluation:

"Dan's session afforded me a moment of inspiration- when I realised our FE partners should be part of our recruitment network"

"Attending this conference has highlighted our institution’s good and bad points. We can now look at how to progress."

"It also highlighted the need for a better integrated process and much better communication with other colleagues."

"Thank you very insightful day and has motivated me to develop and grow our institution practices."

"More of this please!"

Created: May 2011