Ed. Collective - DirectED

IDEAS FOR THE DIRECTION AND TRANSFORMATION OF TERTIARY EDUCATION IN NZ

INTRODUCTIONWe believe the experience of learning in New Zealand urgently needs to become more flexible, open, global, responsive and efficient.

We are living in a time of unprecedented opportunity. New tools and technologies that were the stuff of science fiction not long ago are now part of our daily lives. Increasingly open and connected, we have access to knowledge, people and places like never before.

The world is creating, sharing and learning in new ways, at scale and at great pace.

Introduction Directed: Ideas for the direction and transformation of tertiary education in NZ

In this context of rapid and exponential change, some things which are critical to our ability to benefit from this change and its speed, have remained the same. The Bachelor’s degree is a 900-year-old construct which continues to dominate the qualifications space. The way in which traditional higher education is delivered also remains… well, traditional. By and large, learners are still required to learn at times and in ways convenient to institutions, pay for knowledge that exists free and is constantly updated and discussed by great minds online and invest at least three full years of their lives to get a degree.

The things that have changed in traditional higher education are not all positive. The cost of delivering the same product grows more and more expensive each year, with no end in sight. A university degree no longer guarantees a graduate a job. In fact, employers are on record with their dismay that learners are less and less work ready when they complete their studies. More learners are investing more time and money pursuing postgraduate studies in a bid to stand out. The financial return is questionable (and will only become more so) as the fees, living costs and the opportunity cost of the study time required continues to climb at a rate out of step with potential salaries.

Too much of the system is designed around its institutions, rather than learners, the times we live in and the demands of the world we are creating.

There has to be a better way.

This document sets out some high-level ideas for change that we intend to explore further. We are co-designing a desired future state with New Zealand learners where their ambitions, talents, the value they can create and the change they can bring about in the world are recognised as central to the design. In this collaborative process, ideas will be refined, new ones added and others discounted entirely.

Despite the thinking being early-stage, we have decided to share these thoughts and signal our organisation is committed to amplifying the learner voice on these topics and the broader challenge of the future of higher education in New Zealand. More detailed papers will be developed next year.

We welcome the Productivity Commission’s announcement of an enquiry into new models of tertiary education. We believe the need is urgent and think it crucial that there be a discussion that places the learner at the centre and moves out from there. We have the opportunity to enable generations of New Zealanders to benefit fully from the advantages available from this new world around us and contribute productively to the future.

Finally, it is also important to recognise that our systems and institutions were created for another time. There is no blame to allocate for any criticisms of the way things are. The existing models were fantastic once upon a time. But the world has changed around us and does so more and more each day.


“THE BEST WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE IS TO CREATE IT.” - Peter Drucker

WE MUST RESPOND.TOGETHER, WE BELIEVE WE CAN DO BETTER.

INDEED, WE MUST.


OPPORTUNITIESWhat follows are a series of high-level ideas we are co-designing with learners, education and industry stakeholders. We believe they form the raw core of changes which have the potential to benefit all of New Zealand’s learners and our future.

Opportunities Directed: Ideas for the direction and transformation of tertiary education in NZ

We live in a world where greater flexibility and choice is being demanded across all manner of categories.

FLEXIBLEWhat if we could… ʶ provide learners with greater choice and freedom about when they study, when they work and when they take a break?

ʶ reduce the opportunity cost of the time learners spend studying?

ʶ create circumstances that enable learners to counter student poverty?

ʶ provide learners with flexibility to take up work experience when they want or when the opportunities arise?

ʶ increase the return to the taxpayer on billions of dollars of public capital assets?

One answer could be to open tertiary institutions, full noise, all year-round. The current dominant two-semester model effectively requires all learners to put their studies on hold at the same time each year – November to March.

If the policy settings and institutional practice supported an academic calendar with three full trimesters (or similar), the benefits for learners would be that they could:

ʶ complete a three-year Bachelor’s degree in two years; ʶ study less so they could earn more while studying and still complete in three years;

ʶ take up work experience opportunities throughout the year, rather than only over summer; and

ʶ take their holidays whenever they wanted.

Further to this, the current approach means all learners are hitting the holiday and graduate job markets at the same time and seeking and leaving accommodation at the same time. If tertiary institutions were open year-round, there would be a smoothing effect on these factors.

Employers would also benefit in that the timeframe to provide learners with work experience would not have to be allocated solely over the summer period.

In terms of learners’ demand for this flexibility, we have more to work to do, but Ed. Collective asked the following question of over 800 Bay of Plenty young people 19 years old or younger:

If you could shorten the length of your qualification (e.g. completing a 3-year degree in 2 years) by studying through summer, would you?

Without mentioning any of the other benefits (e.g. ability to earn more money and still complete in three years, take a break at different times of year, take up work experience opportunities when they came up), 60% of respondents answered “Yes”. We intend to investigate further but, as a start, it is a positive indication of an appetite for this kind of flexibility and choice.


What if New Zealand learners could study what they like, from wherever they like, towards a qualification of their choice? For example, if a learner at the University of Auckland wanted to do some Communications papers from AUT, why could we not let them do so without penalty?

OPEN

The same quality body approves and audits programmes at both institutions and gives them the quality tick. The same learner pays the fees. The same taxpayer pays the subsidy. And, sometimes, the same staff teach the papers – moving between institutions as they do.

How attractive might it be to international students to be able to complete a year of study in one city, their second in another and a third in another – experience living in a number of areas in this great country of ours? Why not make New Zealand the most attractive place for international students to travel and study – wherever they like, whenever they like? In speaking with a number of international students, many cite the New Zealand lifestyle, easy-going society and beautiful scenery as their reasons for studying here.

For that matter, how interesting might it be to domestic learners to have this level of openness? It’s worth asking the question.

A further benefit is that this approach may further reduce duplication in the system and encourage greater collaboration (and cost efficiencies) in marketing and student recruitment, both domestically and abroad.

It is worth considering how we can make our learning system more open and identifying how this might benefit New Zealand learners in terms of flexibility and choice.

Shared Resources

Speaking of ‘open’, what would it be like if tertiary learners had some level of access to the resources (e.g. libraries, wireless networks, sporting facilities etc) of all/other tertiary institutions? For example, Auckland’s Learning Quarter includes AUT and the University of Auckland. What if it became a Learning Quarter in that learners from both institutions could move between the two campuses, use the resources in each other’s libraries and more? Similarly, if a Canterbury learner lives near CPIT and they want to study from and use the resources at CPIT on a particular day, couldn’t they do that?

Beyond facilities and resources that might be available to learners, there are also opportunities for institutions to look at what expertise they might share between them and rationalise. It is worth studying what might be saved if institutions shared staff across ICT Services, Finance, Security, Estates and even HR, with a view to directing any savings


into learner-centred investments. More achievable between institutions that share a geographic area, this would not suit all but could be explored for Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

What we know is that the fees required to support the current structures are unsustainable for the global learners of today and tomorrow. A failure to make changes will render the choice between a degree from one of our institutions for over $20,000 (and climbing) and one from a reputable international institution online for a fraction of the cost and delivered more flexibly an easy one. Quite simply, we cannot continue to ask learners to pay more and more. We also cannot expect to reduce their fees without some fundamental changes in the underlying cost structures. Our institutions need to share more of what they have with each other in order to reduce costs to all learners.

Recognition of Prior Learning

We would all agree that knowledge and skills are not just acquired in a classroom. People learn plenty at work, volunteering and through other channels. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) has been around for some time in the tertiary sector. However, there are usually limits to how much can be recognised and, in some cases, access to RPL is denied altogether. Why?

From a learner’s perspective, why should they be forced to choose which of the skills they can have assessed and contribute to a qualification? Why, if they have the knowledge, should they be forced to spend their money, taxpayers’ money and a whole lot time in a course they don’t need to take? Or, why should they have to pay for and take all of it if only a subset of the information is new to them?

The system needs greater flexibility in how and when prior learning is recognised. It is in the learners’ interests and the system’s interests to do so.

Recognition of Current Learning

In addition to deficiencies around Recognition of Prior Learning, our current system is not really set up to recognise the knowledge acquired by learners who leave their programme of study early – something they may do as a result of gaining employment or successful entrepreneurial efforts.

Institutions are caught between wanting to support their learners to achieve these outcomes and discouraging them from doing so. The reason is that their performance is measured by Government at least in part by learners completing the qualifications in which they enrol. If the learner finishes their degree but struggles to find a job, the institution gets a pass grade. If the learner leaves early to take up a job or start their own business, the institution is given a fail.


The consequence of this is that the system settings are such that these successful outcomes for the learner are not in the interests of the institution. Therefore, as much as they might like to support them, institutions have to be careful about internships, ‘real-world integration’ and enterprise incubation initiatives for their learners.

However it is done, system and institutional settings need to actively encourage our tertiary providers to support learners to achieve positive outcomes for themselves, their families and their communities. A more nuanced approach to quantifying academic achievements of learners in a meaningful, credible way would be a great start. What if every degree in the country had exit qualifications for each 60 points or 120 points completed? – e.g. a Certificate for 1 year, a Diploma for 2

years? Similarly, institutions should be rewarded for getting students into their chosen field, whenever that might occur and whether they are working for someone else or for themselves.

What might the learning experience be like if this was the case? Learners would benefit from knowing that the institution is always looking out for their interests and be confident that they will not leave their studies empty-handed – whenever that might choose to leave.

Far too much time and money is being spent on education for there to be any disadvantage for anyone achieving early success.


Geographic boundaries in education are becoming meaningless in many ways. However, not in our tertiary system.

GLOBALLocal Talent

In an increasingly globalised education environment, what if we supported our New Zealand learners to access education wherever they wanted to study in the world?

Technology is making content from institutions all over the world available here in New Zealand. Some of it is open, without cost. In other cases, learners are charged for being accredited for their knowledge and mastery of the content. For some fields of study, gaining acceptance to a specialist/top-level institution overseas could represent the opportunity of a lifetime, but the international fees are prohibitive.

If the system were to place the learner at the centre, could we not loan the money we would have lent and provide the subsidy we would have provided had they pursued a similar course of study with a New Zealand-based institution? This would increase the accessibility of study opportunities abroad, especially to those who cannot finance the whole thing themselves.

In a truly learner-centred model, we would be supporting our people to develop themselves through whichever institution they wanted.

Global Knowledge

With ever-increasing costs, exploring how international content can be contextualised and used in courses here in New Zealand (in lieu of creating new ones) could be one way of reducing costs without compromising (indeed possibly increasing) the quality of what is delivered. Open platforms like edX, Udacity, the Khan Academy and numerous others are providing knowledge to the world at no cost or low cost.

For example, why should learners pay a thousand dollars to learn ancient mathematics knowledge which has been around for millennia and is available at no charge online? Why can we not avoid paying the costs of creating a new course and instead use the online course content, perhaps provide coaching/tutelage around its application and/or test people on their mastery of that?

The challenge of accrediting people for knowledge gained through non-traditional education platforms is an unanswered question, not an insurmountable challenge. It will eventually be addressed and moves are being made now to do just that. However, the system has an opportunity to support and be part of that shift, rather than watch it happen.


RESPONSIVE & EFFICIENT Professional ApprenticeshipsAt great expense to both learners and taxpayers, the Bachelor’s degree has become something of an entry visa into all manner of jobs. Without opposition, ‘creeping credentialism’ has now seen it applied as the standard for most professions.

Further to this, employers report that many candidates do not have the skills to be employable or are highly skilled but not in the areas they need. As a result, graduates are often not useful when they start and require further training. In a recent meeting with a technology company, they mentioned working with a tertiary institution to better align their teaching with industry practice because “their graduates aren’t employable – they are being taught old technology that companies like us just don’t use anymore”.

We would argue for a purposeful exploration of alternative on-the-job learning models to compliment updated, flexible, open and responsive tertiary study (e.g. expansion of scope of apprenticeships) and new ways of accrediting learners for their knowledge of content, mastery of skills and their ability to invent and innovate.

For example, what if learners could take an apprenticeship in marketing? Or computer programming? There are international examples of industry training programmes (some led by individual private companies building their own workforce) that are quick, comparatively inexpensive and deliver impressive employment outcomes. How do they work? Why do they work?

What other careers would suit this approach and how might we implement them here with support from the tertiary system?

The traditional pathway has its value and makes an extremely important contribution. However, we would argue that contemporary learners need to have more options from which to choose, to suit their learning styles and goals. There is the potential to deliver learners a learning experience that networks them into their chosen field, tailors their preparation for work and makes them more employable from day one – and does so quicker and cheaper for everyone concerned.

Competencies

Technology, mobility, globalisation, sharing and increased openness are impacting on the competencies people are increasingly expected to have. In a world where knowing something free of charge is the click of a button away for anyone, what an individual can do with that knowledge (evaluate it, analyse it, combine it and use it to support a team’s purpose) becomes more important. Critical thinking, sourcing of information, analysis, problem-solving, writing, communication and teamwork/collaboration skills are all sought by today’s employers. Technological proficiency is also in greater demand, because technology is so much part of how we all operate.

As a general comment, we believe more should be done across the system to promote the development of these competencies, thereby improving the employability of our learners.

Opportunities Directed: Ideas for the direction and transformation of tertiary education in NZOpportunities Directed: Ideas for the direction and transformation of tertiary education in NZ

CONCLUSION The world is becoming more flexible, open, connected, responsive and efficient across a wide range of industry categories. New business models are emerging in entertainment, transport, media, advertising, finance, health care - in fact, in every facet of our existence. Education is no different. Right now, it is the private and non-profit sectors worldwide which are leading the way, nimble on their feet and piloting alternatives. There is an opportunity for the tertiary system to step up and join these players with real, meaningful changes that support New Zealand learners in this new world.

Conclusion Directed: Ideas for the direction and transformation of tertiary education in NZ

NEXT STEPSThe ideas for change set out in this paper represent early-stage thinking and we expect them to change somewhat as we consult with learners on what system changes they think would be most beneficial to them. There are also likely to be new additions. However, we thought we would signal our intention to explore these areas further and will have more to say in the weeks and months ahead.

Next Steps Directed: Ideas for the direction and transformation of tertiary education in NZ

ABOUT ED. COLLECTIVE

Ed. Collective is a charitable organisation that wants to place the voices of New Zealand’s learners at the centre of shaping the future of education in this country. We believe that future should be made up of outstanding learning experiences and strong learner communities. We are asking questions and starting conversations with learners on things that we think and things they think will make the biggest difference. We’ll be in touch.

More information can be found at www.edcollective.org.nz.

WAY BETTER.

YOU. US.BELIEVING THAT TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE EDUCATION BETTER.

About Ed. Collective Directed: Ideas for the direction and transformation of tertiary education in NZ

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