The Government’s decision to allow universities in the UK to set their own levels of course fees has had an unexpected knock on effect for providers of distance learning.

As the dust begins to settle on the furore surrounding many universities plans to increase course fees to the maximum level permitted, distance learning organisations look poised to cash in – literally.

Established companies such as the Interactive Design Institute have remained largely unaffected by the scrabble to establish record levels of tuition fees across the UK’s higher education sector. “The cost of providing higher education courses need not be prohibitive” according to Michael Stewart, director at IDI, “Distance learning providers are able to deliver the many of the same courses with the same high levels of student support but at a fraction of the cost”.

For example, universities in Wales are proposing to charge student tuition fees of up to £9,000 per annum after their original applications were rejected by the Higher Education Funding Council. The HEFCW stated that the universities would be required to show that their proposals demonstrated how they would allocate a proportion of the new fee to the promotion of higher education and the encouragement of equality of opportunity.

The cost of the new scheme could result in long term financial difficulties for university level education in Wales.

In England, the fees will be paid directly to the university as a government loan. The university then recoups this loan from students following graduation. However, in Wales the government are planning to cover the increase by providing a grant to fund the difference between the current course fee and the proposed higher fee.

Consequently, 75% of Welsh students will be unaffected by the increase as they will be in receipt of this government grant. The cost to the Welsh Assembly will be in the region of £1.5 billion and this explains why the Welsh Assembly is anxious to ensure the maximum return on this investment.

Some commentators feel that the delivery of higher education requires a major overhaul but in the interim, innovative providers such as the Interactive Design Institute are generating significant enquiries from students seeking other modes of learning.

For these new providers, issues of affordability, flexibility and inclusion can be tackled quickly by re-evaluating the way in which education is delivered. Face to face interaction at an attendance based university is a resource heavy, inflexible and expensive model that requires the provision of an extensive infrastructure.

The physical classroom is no longer the centre of the educational universe, fact recognised by the collaborative partnership between The University of Hertfordshire’s and the Interactive Design Institute.

Distance learning providers such as the Interactive Design Institute deliver their courses to students through an online learning environment where each student has their own studio and can communicate with their tutors and fellow students in a series of dedicated forums.

Via EPR Network
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