HEPI's response to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding covers the following 10 areas: (1) Part-time learners; (2) Differential fees; (3) Maintenance grants; (4) Mixed funding model; (5) Uses of tuition fees; (6) Misunderstanding among applicants; (7) Outreach versus spending on bursaries; (8) Accounting treatment of student loans; (9)…

This report forms part of an international project, led by UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), on higher education's role in supporting "flexible learning pathways." Flexible learning pathways in higher education provide routes to the acquisition of knowledge and skills at different life stages, to meet the…

This article critically assesses the nature and scope of current financial support for part-time undergraduates in England, highlighting its importance for widening participation. It considers the limitations of these financial arrangements, why they are in need of reform, and some of the consequences of their inadequacies. The paper argues that…

Reflecting the changing ideological and economic perspectives of the government of the day, the expansion of higher education in England has prompted numerous reforms aimed at reshaping and restructuring the sector and its funding. Leading to student riots and sparking some of the sharpest controversies in British higher education the reforms…

In England, part-time students have to pay their fees up-front, they can't take out a government-supported loan, and their chances of securing any financial support are depressingly slim. While all full-time students are entitled to some state support, Parliamentary questions have revealed that nine out of 10 part-time students receive nothing at…

The infamous equivalent or lower qualifications (ELQs) regulation--the withdrawal of funding from students who have previously gained a higher education qualification--has cast a long shadow over adult continuing education in English higher education since its introduction in 2007. Together with the attack on funded adult provision in local…

While the numbers of part-time students has increased in higher education in Ireland, little is known about these students or about how they balance their study and other commitments. Drawing on a larger study on Irish students' experiences in higher education, this article attempts to address this gap in research and reports on Irish part-time…

The present state of adult education is perilous, as all readers of "Adults Learning" will know well. All sectors are damagingly affected by funding decisions, as witnessed by the large numbers of organisations and providers represented at the recent Parliamentary lobby by the Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning (CALL). The damage…

This paper presents the facts and figures of the whole UK higher education sector in 2009. The data is derived from a variety of sources, and is updated on a yearly basis.

The last decade has seen increased interest in various aspects of the UK doctorate. This report brings together issues arising from national policy developments, the doctoral researcher cohort, the diversification of doctoral level provision in the UK and the development of the third cycle in the Bologna process. Through discussions with key…

This study explores the dimensions of the work/life/study balance and its influence on student participation in higher education, through a case study of the experience of higher education students, studying both full time and part time, in a Scottish further education college. The experience of the students and the work/life/study challenges that…

This document examines the feasibility of financing parttime students. Emphasis is placed on an overview of the educational setting, objectives, definitions, who the adult students are, the image of parttime students, how many parttime students there are, delivery systems and financing patterns, financing for postsecondary education students in…

Responses from 556 part-time students in two universities and two further education colleges in Scotland found that 81% were employed full time; 62% had mixed personal and vocational motivations; and considerable fee support from employers was offset by a decline in released time for study. (SK)

This is the report on part-time study in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) for Universities UK and GuildHE (previously SCOP) from Nigel Brown Associates. It forms Strand 2 of the wider research into part-time higher education commissioned by Universities UK and GuildHE using quantitative data not available from published sources and…

The study investigated whether performance levels of employed students receiving financial aid increase singnificantly as a consequence of monetary incentive, and whether there are result differentials for some students and not for others. The assumption concerning the incentive value of financial aid was not supported by the study's results.…