The university sector has been transformed since the 1990s. What do universities have to do to stand out from the crowd?
They have to define a mission that makes it absolutely clear why students would want to go there and to staff what is expected of them. That is a bit different from 50 years ago.
London Met’s mission is that we are avowedly an access university and have been since 1848. Our role is to provide education for the whole community, provided people have adequate qualifications or background to succeed. We have an obligation to make sure the student does have adequate preparation, but this is the frontline of higher education.
We are making sure that students who maybe don’t come from a family where people have previously gone to university now have an opportunity to do so and with that gain further opportunities in their private lives and in their careers.
Is the target of 50% of young people going to university still valid?
As an access champion for the previous government I was absolutely committed to that because I belive the education of the mass of the population leads to a more prosperous and informed nation.
Britain does elite education at the higher education level very well. How well we are going in future to engage with mass post compulsory education is what we are all working hard on. But having such a high reputation as a national brand it is really important that we get the mass question worked our well and funded appropriately.
How do press reports and political messaging about immigration impact on foreign students?
The international students that are coming here, or the 600,000 students in other countries studying for British degrees, in many cases they are the best and brightest, and in other cases they are good citizens who have adequate qualifications to benefit from our courses. We have obligations to both of them.
The current government, and the previous government - and I hope any future government - are very welcoming of students who want to come to the UK. The question, however, has got twisted up in how students fit in with immigrants.
The vast majority of students do go home, but it all got twisted up and it has taken a fearsome toll. Not so much in university admissions but in the admissions in areas like further education, schools and English language courses, where the number of visa issued has fallen hugely. Most of those students would hope to go on to study at a British university, so what we would call the pathway has been broken. That is starting to create an anxiety in many universities, particularly those dedicated, like
London Met, to mass higher education.
What are the ‘soft power’ advantages of foreigners studying here in the UK?
It is hugely important – the problem is it can work in reverse if you don’t continually have a welcoming approach. It is really important that the person goes home recommending to their ten best friends that they study in the UK. Not with stories about standing outside police stations or stories about how difficult it was to get their passport back. As I think we are trying to work through those problems now, and the government is committed to trying to do that, it is important that universities also make sure the student experience is as good as possible. Otherwise the word of mouth recommendation, the most powerful recommendation of all, becomes one which is injurious to, rather than supporting, British education.
In a recent interview with The Independent, you talked frankly about the challenges
London Methas faced in your four years as vice-chancellor. How do you assess the current state of the university’s finances?
What we have sought to do always is live within our means at
London Metand that means if you are having a tough time you don’t just splash out on the credit card. We have managed to keep our income and expenditure pretty close. Last financial year despite a series of challenges and difficulties we managed to bring in a small operational surplus. We are very proud of that because that shows the resilience of an institution at the time it faced the prospect of losing many of its international students.
We are now in a very good position and looking at doing a bit more investment in our product to ensure the best student experience.
Why does
London Metspend so much time and energy engaging with schools?
We have spent a lot of time working out where are students have been coming from and where our students might come from, which is a different issue.
We are based in Islington, one of the most diverse and deprived boroughs in London. We are trying to make sure that those students, particularly students who may be from a first generation immigrant family, realise what the prospects are for their further educational development here in Britain.
It means that you are recognising that we all have to make clear what happens in the post-secondary space, being able to explain that which is often best done by our students.