find your perfect postgrad program
Search our Database of 30,000 Courses

Refine courses

Posted May 24, 2013

UK Universities Facing Threat from Trend in Online Courses

Online university courses have come a long way in recent years, and are now becoming an extremely popular alternative to conventional undergraduate and postgraduate courses, with many experts warning that if UK universities do not act soon they may lose out to global online institutions. The chief education advisor for Pearson, Sir Michael Barber warns that the higher education system is facing an unpredictable global revolution, and says that if UK universities do not act to deal with the changing face of education, they will end up losing out on places to those institutions that are driving the change.

Online Universities

The growth of online universities has made conventional universities rethink the way in which they will have to attract students in the future. The demands of the modern student are varied, and distance learning courses allow for much more flexibility of scheduling as well as freedom of location, making it a much more attractive option for many. Sir Michael warns that universities caught “standing still” will be at most risk, and predicts that there are likely to be university closures within the next decade as the power shifts towards those offering online options. Research is suggesting that UK universities who are getting large numbers of foreign students may soon lose out on much of this revenue stream if global online universities are able to attract students to their courses instead. This would be extremely bad news for all involved as foreign students account for a large portion of the annual income.
 

Re-Inventing Universities

Sir Michael Barber indicates that this evolution towards online courses does not spell the end for our established British universities, but instead offers an opportunity for them to adapt and thrive in a new higher education environment.

MOOC’s (massive open online courses) are generating a lot of interest at the moment, and UK universities can become involved by adapting the services they offer and catering for the needs of the modern online student. One of the challenges facing universities is not necessarily the ability to adapt their academic offerings to cater for online needs, but also to alter the financial model by which students pay for tuition. Many online course models allow students to take different modules at different institutions around the world, and this would not work very well if students are still borrowing government money for a three year study period in the UK.
 

We must adapt the way we run our universities in accordance with the changing needs of students, if we are to keep up with other institutions from around the world.
 

Leave a comment

All contributors must be over 16 year olds

By submitting your comment you agree to our privacy policy.

Categories