Current Issues Facing Higher Education 鈥� A Professional Standards View
As Chair of the 欧美AV Professional Standards Board, which oversees aspects of higher education provision, it is important that I tell our community how conscious we are – as your professional body – of the challenges now facing HE, as well as measures we’re taking in light of them. Outside of my trustee role with the 欧美AV, I am Executive Dean for Science and Engineering at Swansea University, which means I’m well aware of both the extent and complexity of these challenges.
As a professional body, we consistently highlight the importance of the chemical sciences and its workforce to UK and devolved governments. The chemical sciences workforce — numbering around 300,000 — contributes an average of £83 billion per year to UK GDP. Coupled with the projected growth potential of the chemical sciences workforce, adequate training is needed more than ever.
The advent/reinvention of degree apprenticeships in some parts of the UK is welcome and important but recent analysis for the 欧美AV shows much of that workforce is educated in the HE sector. Whilst chemistry undergraduate and postgraduate degrees remain a key stepping-stone into chemical sciences research and development, it would also be remiss of me not to highlight many chemistry graduates go into other sectors and make valuable contributions with their excellent and desirable problem solving and analytical skills.
At a time when the sector is under strain, it is vital to emphasise the value chemistry departments, researchers and courses add to local and national economies and to their universities – chemistry is a core component of many other subjects and supports interdisciplinary collaborations. We therefore recently wrote to new UK Ministers to emphasise the contribution the chemical sciences workforce and research already makes – and has even greater potential to deliver in future – to their mission for sustained growth and a high-skills economy. A strong chemical science sector in the UK is vitally important for society as a whole, with its potential to solve global challenges such as environmental sustainability and continue to make life-saving advancements in healthcare. The threats to chemistry courses caused by the financial pressure on UK universities poses a significant threat to that vision.
A challenge beyond chemistry
The issues experienced by UK universities are by no means limited to chemistry – reform to how HE is sustainably structured, funded and maintained is long overdue. Universities are faced with having to make invidious decisions to ensure their survival.
Funding arrangements for home undergraduate students differs across the nations of the UK but, irrespective of those differences, the caps on tuition fees mean that they have not kept pace with inflation. The £9,000 fee introduced in England and Wales after the Browne review in 2012 has increased only to £9,250 and is essentially worth only about two thirds of its original value in real terms. Such a loss of income would be unsustainable for any organization.
This is not to say the solution is necessarily for UK student fees to increase—higher education needs to be financially accessible to all if we are to realise both the economic and societal benefits. Rather, it illustrates the broader challenges in HE finances and why judicious, wide-ranging urgent reform is needed.
We therefore provided input to the recent Universities UK Blueprint for higher education, as part of broader discussions on the future of Higher Education and we will continue to make this case to a range of decision-makers in UK Governments and civil services.
The collapse this year in overseas student numbers has put even greater pressure on a sector that is already struggling. Overseas students and staff offer UK universities talent, enthusiasm, cultural exchange and a diverse range of perspectives, all of which is proven to create better research outcomes. They are welcome in UK universities and this should be reflected in how we discuss this topic as a sector. Global mobility is at the heart of every university’s mission.
However, numbers of international students coming to the UK in 2024 have fallen significantly, at a time when UK universities have become increasingly reliant—indeed, they have been encouraged to be reliant—on income from their fees to make up deficits on home students and research income. This puts at risk not only the financial viability, but also the vibrancy of UK universities. Recognising the global nature of the chemical sciences, the 欧美AV advocates for an effective immigration system for science, including an open and welcoming attitude to highly skilled workers and future entrepreneurs.
Modernising while maintaining standards
While I’ve already discussed the contribution they provide to UK economy and global society. STEM subjects inarguably require significant ongoing investment in laboratory facilities and equipment to provide high-quality, safe teaching. The 欧美AV’s Professional Standards Board oversees accreditation of degree programmes and, through a recent review, we know that stakeholders in the sector – including employers, students and HE themselves – don’t want to see corners cut. It is why chemistry graduates are so highly sought after by employers in just about every sector. Practical and transferable skills remain high on the sector's needs with a strong foundation of core knowledge. To avoid stagnation, there is a continual need to modernise the structure and content of degree programmes. Our accreditation criteria encourage this, with many institutions already raising the bar in terms of green and digital chemistry, evolving degree programmes to maintain their relevance to the wider world. The applied nature of the subject and how that appeals to new generations of students, who we know are motivated to make the world a better place, really cannot be underestimated.
Chemistry degrees and apprenticeships are the gateway to a range of exciting careers, showcased in . As a professional body, we will continue to monitor the situation around chemistry workforce and training pathways closely and continue to be vocal about the vital contribution current and future chemicals scientists’ will play in making the world a better place.
Professor David Smith is Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Swansea. David is a Chartered Chemist and Fellow of the 欧美AV. He is currently a Trustee of the 欧美AV and chairs the Professional Standards Board.