The background to the University’s recommendation for the future of Public Programmes in the School of Continuing Education

Like many other higher education institutions, we have been wrestling for some considerable time with the issue of how to fund the School's Public Programmes, now that their funding has been withdrawn by Government.

In September 2007, the Government announced the removal of £100 million nationally in ELQ funding. This means that universities no longer receive funding for students who are studying for a Higher Education qualification that is equivalent to, or lower than, a qualification that they have already been awarded. Universities will therefore receive no funding for students with, for example, a first degree who want to pursue a second degree or short courses such as evening classes.

In the case of the University of Reading, this impacts predominantly on our Open Studies Programmes and the Certificate in Higher Education, both within the School of Continuing Education. Funding has been lost for over 55% of students enrolling on the Open Programme courses and 37% of Certificate students so we are now facing an annual shortfall in income of over half a million pounds.

While some universities closed their Open Studies Programmes on hearing the Government announcement over a year ago, and others have subsequently done so, we have spent the last twelve months trying to find a way around the problem.

In 2008, a Working Party involving the staff from the School looked at a wide range of options to meet the funding gap, including raising tuition fees to students and staff. Both the Working Party and a subsequent Review failed to identify an alternative business model which will sustainably fund the School's Open Programmes. The Senior Management Board (SMB) has ultimately concluded that there is no financially sustainable way to continue to run the programmes. The hard fact is that the University cannot afford to subsidise these courses to the tune of half a million pounds each year.

The Senior Management Board has also considered the impact of closure of these programmes on the long-term sustainability of the two other units - the Professional Management Programmes and the Careers Studies Unit. Neither is affected by ELQ funding. The SMB has identified a positive opportunity to develop the Professional Management Programmes through a merger of this unit into Henley Business School. However, although the Review Group considered four possible locations for merger of the Careers Studies Unit, none were considered to be sustainable options for the potential host Schools. For this reason, the SMB has agreed that, in consultation with bodies with which we collaborate, we identify possible opportunities to transfer this unit to another Institution. The SMB has therefore agreed that the final intake to postgraduate Programmes in the Careers Studies Unit at the University should be October 2009.

We are fully aware of the esteem in which the Public Programme courses are held by many local people, and indeed our staff. The Senior Management Board is committed to ensuring that the University and its staff continue to share its collective knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm for learning with the community. We are exploring how we can provide language classes through the Institution Wide Language Programme (IWLP) and how we can expand our events programme to provide a more wide reaching service to the local community. More information will follow.

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