A. For a brief period, the popular image of the university student was embodied bySebastian of Brideshead Revisited: 18-years old, male, privileged, and ready to spendthree years in one of the world's most elite institutions. But the idea of a typicalstudent no longer holds: today's students are just as likely to be female, or older, orfrom overseas, or studying part-time while holding down a full-time job.
B. Traditional models of provision ( 供给 ) no longer work for these students. But howcan universities adapt to meet their need--and the needs of the modern globaleconomy? Conditions of Flexibility, published by Professor Ron Barnett, looks athow universities can offer more flexible structures and the conditions under whichflexibility can flourish. Using the report as a starting point, a recent Guardianroundtable ( 圆桌会议 ) sponsored by the Higher Education Academy broughttogether a group of experts and senior managers in higher education to discuss thefuture of flexible learning.
Integrity
C. The roundtable heard that flexibility is an essential part of a modem higher educationsystem. "The 21 st century is calling for new kinds of persons, who can adapt andrespond flexibly to the extraordinary challenges we see day in and day out," said oneparticipant. The challenge is how to meet the needs of those students without losinginternal integrity, he argued. Many universities are working hard to develop flexibleapproaches that match students to the employment needs of the economy. Oneparticipant described how her university works with local employers to create tailoredprogrammes for individuals. "Students will come in to talk about their aspirations,their past experiences, their qualifications, their jobs, and a customized opportunity will be created for them, which will pick up modules ( 模块 ) and put them into a special package for that individual student," she said.
D. While universities are encouraged to think in a more focused fashion about the specific requirements of the workplace, many also want to equip students with a broader range of skills that enable them to adapt to the demands of a rapidly changing world. Some degree programmes are moving away from the traditional modular ( 模 块的，分单元的 ) approach--where undergraduates might take 10 short modules a year--to a system of longer courses. One participant said that her institution has built flexibility into this new model: "A student might be asked to undertake a particular activity designed to develop a particular aspect of their skills--maybe their critical thinking or their employability skills--but they can choose where they do it withinthe framework of their discipline." An immunology ( 免疫学 ) student, for example,could choose to apply their skills to HIV/Aids or heart disease.
E. Flexibility is also being introduced into assessment. At one university, students on aparticular master's programme take five modules, each of which can be assessed infive different ways and students choose which assessment method they prefer for eachmodule.
F. Another participant described the experimental introduction in one degree course ofan option that enables students to study the same module twice, "in order to learn betteror differently than they did the first time", with students being assessed separatelyeach time. The roundtable also heard about the role technology can play in providingstudents with greater flexibility in how they learn. One participant talked about hisuniversity's use of"lecture capture"--recording lectures so that students could watchthem again, an innovation that has been embraced with enthusiasm by both staff andstudents. Other participants argued for a move away from the didactic (说教的 )approach of the 50-minute lecture altogether, and in favor of more active methodsof teaching. One spoke of a master's course in which psychology students learningto be expert witnesses worked with law students and computer science students on asimulated criminal trial of a murder case. "It ended up being an incredibly rich multi-professional experience that mimic ( 模仿 ) the real world," she said.
G. Perhaps one of the biggest flexible learning innovations has been the introduction ofmassive open online courses (Moocs), which enable students to study university-level courses at a distance and for free, using Internet-based resources. Advocates believe that Moocs are democratic, opening higher education up to people who would not normally be able to access it. Roundtable participants were largely skeptical about the disruptive ( 引起混乱的 ) potential of Moocs, with one arguing that "most of the people who participate in Moocs are PhDs or academics. There are huge levels of dropout, and the quality is pretty poor."
H. What are the challenges to providing more flexible learning in higher education? Some participants felt that students are not ready to learn flexibly, and prefer a traditional model of teaching through lectures and assessment through essays and exams. One argued that many students are unused to choice: "When they arrive as undergraduates, they're so used to being told exactly what to do and how they'll be examined that when we get them into university and give them more choices, they don't know what to choose." Students' reluctance to embrace innovation means that universities should take care when introducing flexibility, one participant argued: "We've got a responsibility to try to make sure we structure learning in such a way that students are encouraged to explore outside their comfort zone and engagein different learning approaches, but are unable to default to the lowest commondenominator."
Quality Assurance Agency
I. Some academics too are cautious about adopting flexible learning methods, theroundtable heard. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), a regulatory body thatmonitors standards in higher education, publishes standard statements: a set ofguidelines for what students should be taught in each subject.
J. One participant said: "There is a risk aversion around quality and standards becausestaffs are terribly nervous about getting a poor QAA rating. Perhaps they see standardstatements as being gospel ( 真理 ) , and they have to deliver to those benchmarkstatements rather than considering threshold concepts and letting students just explorebetween them."
K. Although universities are working hard to develop flexible provision, someparticipants acknowledged that, both in the structure of courses offered and inmethods of teaching and learning, progress is patchy (参差不齐的) . "This sortof exciting innovative activity is going on only in part of the university, not acrossthe institution," said one. "The challenge for university management is the day-to- day pressures of resource management, and time to balance the budget with this innovative way of working."
L. But it was acknowledged that universities, despite the best of intentions, operate under external constraints. Progress has been slow in the area of student mobility, for example. Increasingly, said one participant, universities must recognize "the desire of students to be mobile on the international stage and to take a great number of credits in different countries and to get work experience in those different settings but still wanting to get a degree that puts that all together."
M. There is a tension, one participant pointed out, between "good words and actual policy". While successive governments have talked about the importance of increasing flexibility and being employer-led, they operate "a funding and policy model which goes back to thinking about 18-year-olds doing three-year degree programmes and going on to a master's if they want." Until governments catch up with the realities of the new higher education landscape, universities may find it hard to provide the flexibility students and employers need.