The number of part-time students has seen a continuing decline. The NUS figures put this at a 38 percent drop in the last five years. They also suggest that the number of adult learners in further education has also dropped by 1.3 million[1]. In 2014 Universities UK held interviews with selected institutions to discuss the factors responsible for the recent decline in part-time undergraduate student recruitment.
Based on this exercise, the factors identified as influencing students’ decisions to study part-time include:
- Reforms to undergraduate funding,
- The economic downturn, including increased unemployment and reduced employer funding, and
- Reductions in public funding, including reductions in public sector employment[2].
The flexibility of part-time study is of particular significance for widening participation in that it facilitates a second chance for adult learners who had not progressed to higher education at 18, with these students more likely to be affected by any loss in earning while studying part-time and having greater costs in, for example, travel or childcare[3].
When looking at mature entrant numbers, there has, historically, been a relatively high concentration of enrolments within the Open University where a continued decline in entrants pulls down the overall figures, even in 2013-14. In 2012-13 and 2013-14, mature entrants to the Open University fell by 25% and further 26% respectively. Outside of this institution, while it is the case that student number fell by around the same percentage in 2012-13 (27%), there was actually a very minor increase in the latest available data (2013-14)[4].
The Chancellor announced in Budget 2016 that in order to promote retraining and prepare people for the future labour market, the government will review the gaps in support for lifetime learning, including for flexible and part-time study. This was linked to bringing together information about the wages of graduates of different courses and the financial support available across further and higher education, to enable applicants to make informed decisions about which courses are appropriate to their needs.
Part-time study
Between 2010-11 and 2013-14, part-time study at HEIs in England (UK domiciled students only) dropped by 30% or 194,704. In 2010-11 there were 1.7 million UK domiciled students at HEIs in England, 1.1 million of these students studied full-time and 666,544 studied part-time. By 2013-14 the number of the number of part-time students declined 18% (194,704).[1]
74 courses experienced an absolute decline in the number of part-time students, with 204,812 fewer students in 2013-14 than in 2010-11, whereas 34 exhibited an increase, with 10,108 more part-time students in 2013-14. Focusing on the 74 courses that experienced a decrease in part-time study, we see that the decline was dominated by a small number of courses, with just 10 courses accounting for over 75% of the total decline in part-time study.
The table below shows that this drop in part-time study, within HEIs, occurred mainly in courses that have non-traditional aims (e.g. diplomas, certificates and awards as opposed to first degrees) and across a wide range of subjects, including combined studies, business, education, subjects allied to medicine, languages and social work. It is also worth highlighting the large decline in education-related Masters degrees, which experienced a 60% drop between 2010-11 and 2013-14.
In just one type of course – first degrees in subjects allied to medicine – was the requisite increase in full-time students large enough to offset the decline in part-time study; in all others the fall in part-time students resulted in a decline in the total number of students studying for those courses. This is likely to have had a detrimental effect on continuing professional development and the ability for individuals and businesses to upskill.
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