Speaking in a Welsh Conservative debate on proposed Higher Education mergers, Angela Burns AM, Shadow Minister for Education, said:
Llywydd,
I move the motion tabled in the name of William Graham on behalf of the Welsh Conservatives. Before I proceed with the thrust of our debate I would also wish to stress that this motion is supported by Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats.
If we had been able too the Opposition Parties would have tabled a joint motion but unfortunately time was against us and as all three Opposition parties believe the issue of the reorganisation of the Higher Education Sector is of such paramount importance we could not delay in raising this subject.
I would like to address the three key points of our Motion in the order they appear on the paper
Firstly; we ask the Welsh Government to;
Realign Higher Education Policy to strengthen teaching standards and improve graduate outcomes
I acknowledge that the Minister is also wedded to the improvement in standards agenda and I would wish to recognise that the Government is finally commenced that direction of travel.
However in order to be successful we must ensure that our Universities raise their game. Our World and UK rankings are poor, academic excellence is not seen to be rigorous enough in some areas and I believe the learner of the future will be looking for and deserving of a far more personalised experience of university.
We should not compromise on excellence and the Welsh Conservatives believe that it is imperative that graduates is Wales are equipped with the skills to secure meaningful employment in a competitive market.
In this country more we generate more graduates than we recruit into employment our graduates need to stand out, academic excellence, skills and relevance to the work place must be key.
Secondly; we ask the Welsh Government to establish Welsh Higher Education Institutions as centres for post graduate and research excellence. This drive is vital to the lifeblood of our Country. Others are going to speak on this in far more detail but I would wish to make this simple observation.
Swansea University has 13,396 students of which 11,416 are undergraduates and 1,980 postgraduates.
The Universities of Aberystwyth and Bangor has 16,516 undergraduates and 4,192 postgraduate.
Yet MIT has 10,566 students of which 4299 are undergraduates and 6267 are postgraduates.
Stanford has 6,988 undergraduates and 12,957 postgraduates.
There are many other examples. Examples that show the collaboration between the strength and depth of postgraduate students and the access to research grants and the concomitant rise in results, excellence and reputation.
We are good at making undergraduates, with variable standards it has to be said. But to be recognised, ranked, attractive to investment, to research projects, to the Rest of the World we need to increase the numbers and calibre of our postgraduates.
Our final point in the Motion is seeking for the Welsh Government to prioritise voluntary collaboration, in preference to forced mergers, between Higher Education Institutions
The much awaited proposals for the reorganisation of the Higher Education Sector were laid before the Assembly by way of a statement on the 29th November by the Minister for Education and Skills.
Statements do not leave time or latitude for debate and these proposals; sound in part, draconian in other need the oxygen of debate.
Oxygen that will enable the Minister to hear where we agree, where we support, where we have concerns and where we find we cannot agree.
There is much to be supportive of, collaboration is the new mantra and rightfully so. Collaboration that maximises the synergies of organisations, groups and peoples are to be welcomed.
Collaborative effort requires a joint vision, constancy and support. And it is on this subject that I would wish to base most of my contribution.
The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales put forward a consultative document called The Future of Higher Education in Wales that made some radical suggestions the main thrust of which is that Wales should have a smaller number of Universities.
I have heard the Hefcw argument that the Universities in Wales lack critical mass and I would agree that argument is valid in some cases; however I do remain unconvinced that the remaining Universities are in a parlous situation. The Minister in his Statement has made clear his direction of travel and given the determination with which the Minister has stated his intention to pursue dissolution as a cudgel to bring non complaint universities to heel I would seek to ensure that the following points are given enough oxygen so that neither debate, nor an institution, is stifled.
We should recognise that since 2003 there have already been 4 new partnerships.
Cardiff and the University of Wales College of Medicine
The University of Glamorgan and Merthyr Tydfil College
Glamorgan and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Trinity University College and University of Lampeter
And currently going through the process the University of Wales Trinity St David and Swansea Metropolitan University.
These partnerships were based on a level of existing collaboration and a joint vision in which all the component parts were enabled to bring to the table their strengths and individual ethos. This collaborative spirit enabled the changes to be completed but we must recognise that some of the elements and barriers to be overcome proved to be expensive, difficult to reengineer and posed some considerable risk.
The Hefcw report set out a range of options the most controversial of which were with regard to Glyndwr and the South Eastern Universities of Glamorgan, Newport and Cardiff Metropolitan.
Yet whilst Hefcw and the Welsh Government supported by HEW pursue the route of big is best it should be noted that other countries have either created, or are taking a view on creating smaller but highly focused HE Institutions to deliver targeted academic excellence.
In his statement the Minister leaves Cardiff and Swansea Universities to pursue their own agendas but encourages collaboration.
His words in regard to Aberystwyth and Bangor are interesting. The Minister does not expect them to progress to a formal merger at this stage? Therefore the question remains, does the Minister see the Hefcw recommendation coming to fruition at some point. I attended the formal launch of the Strategic alliance between the University of Bangor and the University of Aberystwyth today and noted with interest that the Director General of Education and Skills for the Welsh Government, when talking of the future for those great Universities made the comment that joint governance arrangements would be a platform on which to build and move forward.
What impact would that have on Glyndwr, the smallest of our Universities yet miraculously left alone to deepen relationships with the FE sector. In respect of Glyndwr the Minister has chosen not to accept the advice but promises to consider more closely the existing pattern of HE provision in NE Wales and to make a further announcement in due course.
Make no mistake, I along with Antoinette Sandbach, Mark Isherwood and any number of Labour MPs and AMs believe that Glyndwr should be supported and developed within its current ambit but and I address this to the Labour backbenchers, well-meaning individuals like Ken Skates who has been trumpeting in his press releases that Labour saved HE in NE Wales, because I fear Glyndwr has simply been kicked into the long grass for the time being. (5th Oct)
Political persuasion from colleagues may have played a part I also wonder if Glyndwr and the North Wales universities would be easier to deal with in the future if the Minister has managed to have his way with the Universities of the South East.
So we come to the controversial issue of the proposed mergers of the University of Glamorgan, Cardiff Metropolitan and the University of Wales Newport.
Cardiff Metropolitan and Newport have very clearly laid out their stalls as to how they see the future of their institutions unfolding and Glamorgan have been very clear that in their view that the success of any merger depends on the compatibility of the Institutions. Success in a merger does not occur randomly. Some institutions make a good fit and others do not.
I agree and I would go so far as to add that a reluctant partner like Cardiff Metropolitan where the management, most of the staff and the students are resolutely opposed to it will not make a good fit.
The threat of Dissolution as a weapon to ensure compliance is deeply regrettable. The Welsh Conservatives would welcome and urge our Higher Education Institutions to maximise their strengths, minimises their weaknesses and seek to deliver for the students by collaborative working in a positive and visionary way.
I would urge the Minister to bend his intellect and energies to developing a climate of cooperation and trust in which these Institutions can operate without feeling threatened.
I have already mentioned the Launch of the Strategic Alliance between Aberystwyth and Bangor and I would like to use a comment made by Professor April McMahon, Vice Chancellor of Aberystwyth who said that both Universities saw this as a Birth not a Marriage. It enhances Proud, Independent, Sustainable Institutions.
I and my colleagues on these benches would wholeheartedly agree with that vision and I am sure it’s the sort of vision we could collectively engender within the Higher Education Sector.
We are told that some of the institutions in question are either not financially viable or will become so and that is a reason to consider mergers and takeovers. Yet I have received much representation from many of the Universities that contradicts that view. Both Glyndwr and Cardiff Metropolitan have targeted growth strategies and ambitious plans for the development of existing and additional revenue streams. The University of Wales Newport is unashamed of their community focused agenda and again whilst recognising they do need support believes they can thrive within their ambit. The Charter Universities do need to look at changing how they do some of their business and they also need to seriously review their reinvestment strategies but again they are sound. Indeed Hefcw recognised this and that is my point. None may be gold plated but who is these days, most certainly none are on their knees although Minister the statement you made in November may cause some ripples in student applications as they sit down to fill in their UCAS forms. Students will want to apply to Universities where they will have confidence that their degrees will be valid in 2 years’ time.
Minister I would be very interested to understand your view on what might be seen as a small or middle sized University and yet whose individual academic schools are on a par with any large UK university?
I do wish to emphasise the need for any voluntary merger or deep collaboration, that is Institution wide rather than project based, to be based on a clear and mutually agreed vision. A goal, a sense of the road ahead that all will be prepared to sign up to.
This isn’t just my view as someone who in a previous life took part in Mergers and Acquisitions, it is the view of John McCormick who clearly states in his report that mergers must not enable the status quo and I agree, mergers should innovate and energise institutions, broaden knowledge, give depth and strength.
Benefits should be clearly identified and costed so that all partners can move forward with clarity. And with some of our Universities it is essential that the close community ties are maintained and built upon which could be seen as a challenge if the partners to the merger are in very distant geographical places. One of the successes of some of the Universities has been around the area of widening access, enabling people from any and all educational backgrounds to aspire to a University education and this is a success that simply must not become a casualty of the reorganisation plans. Widening access has not just been of benefit to the individual, it’s also played a major part in regenerating local communities and I know that a number of Universities would argue that community engagement, widening access, social mobility and benefits to the local economy have all been key drivers in their respective visions.
We should also bear in mind the needs of part time students especially as a significant proportion of part time students are also first time students coming into higher education through diverse routes and for whom either work or family commitments mean that they need to continue their part time education in an easily accessible location.
The key questions we need to address are these;
Voluntary partnerships are much preferred to threats of hostile takeovers or forced mergers
If dissolution is the route are we talking 2 or 3 dissolutions to create a brand new university?
Have we looked at all the possible combinations in a structured and properly independent manner? If Newport and Glamorgan could find a way forward would they be a possible new institution.
If partnerships and voluntary mergers go ahead how can the component institutions preserve and develop their ethos whilst developing and buying into a shared vision.
What costs will be involved in both a successful and indeed an unsuccessful outcome.
How can the Minister make good on his promise that there would be no campus closures
How can we ensure fairness and transparency in the redeployment of staff and protect each and every job.
And how do we address the comments by Hefcw at the beginning of their proposals when they stated that their views were not evidence based
Above all how do we raise standards, develop research and encourage all students from all backgrounds to be the best they can be for their futures and for the future of Wales.
