Abstract
As a contribution to the history of higher education in English further education colleges, two policy episodes are sketched and compared. Both periods saw attempts to expand courses of higher education outside the universities. In the first, ahead of policies to concentrate non-university higher education in the strongest institutions, efforts were made after 1944 to recognize a hierarchy of colleges, with separate tiers associated with different volumes and types of advanced further education. In the second, soon after unification of the higher education sector at the beginning of the 1990s, all colleges in the further education sector were encouraged to offer higher-level programmes and qualifications, with a reluctance or refusal on the part of central government to plan, coordinate, or configure this provision. The two episodes highlight very different assumptions about what types of institutions should be involved in what kinds of higher education. They are a reminder too of how short is the policy memory on higher education within modern-day governments and their agencies.
Highlights
For more than sixty years, further education institutions have featured prominently in the growth of English higher education, in the broadening of its social base, and as the wellspring for additional universities
At two points in this history, central government policies for higher education have taken a special interest in the role and capacity of these establishments, many of which provided only small amounts of higher education alongside their other courses.The part-time, local, and highly distributed character of much of this higher education was among the reasons, at various times, for its low priority and profile in national policy
‘a few other’ colleges might qualify for this grant ‘because of developments in train or the movement of industry’ (Ministry of Education, 1956b: 17). For those among the 24 that were unable, in the short term, to divest themselves of lowerlevel work or to satisfy all the conditions set out for their designation as colleges of technology, the colleges so placed would rank as regional colleges.They were encouraged by the government to seek every opportunity to strengthen and expand their courses, including those leading to the Diploma in Technology, a national award of honours-degree standard
Summary
For more than sixty years, further education institutions have featured prominently in the growth of English higher education, in the broadening of its social base, and as the wellspring for additional universities. At two points in this history, central government policies for higher education have taken a special interest in the role and capacity of these establishments, many of which provided only small amounts of higher education alongside their other courses.The part-time, local, and highly distributed character of much of this higher education was among the reasons, at various times, for its low priority and profile in national policy In both periods, the policy intention was to strengthen the place of further education institutions in supporting growth and diversity in higher education, and to meet the needs of industry and the labour market for young people and adults with higher-level vocational skills and qualifications. Working through regional advisory councils and local authorities, the education ministry was in a position to guide, steer, and coordinate the rapid expansion of student numbers in further education planned for the years ahead
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