Short post. Open thinking.
UK higher education is going through a period of significant change and it looks like it will continue for some time to come. Office for Students (OfS) financial sustainability forecasts in May 2025 were grim reading and six months later their update did not hold back with language of “tough decisions”, “transformational change” and “radical action” (OfS, 2025a; OfS 2025b). Universities have to operate as businesses (the bank account has to remain above zero after all), whilst also being heavily influenced by a range of socio-economic and political factors that can undermine assumptions and business models. They are also mission-driven institutions, with commitments to educate, push forward humanity’s understanding of the world through research and a shared belief of the power of learning. The recent UK Government White Paper on post-16 education and skills asserts that “our higher education sector is one of our country’s most valuable strategic assets”, whilst acknowledging the shorter-term challenges that need to be addressed in real time. Strategic action requires a long term view, but immediate gains and reframing of higher education are needed. Of note is the positioning of higher education at a ‘regional’ level, with a view to “support students and drive growth”. This new lens on the role of higher education is perhaps incongruent with the highly competitive market-driven arrangement for student recruitment, but ‘radical actions’ might lead to greater collaboration for public benefit.
“At the provider level, we challenge providers to specialise in areas of strength within this more collaborative system, with clearer roles for teaching- and research-intensive institutions with areas of specialist advantage, and stronger access and participation.”
(HM Government, 2025).
One vision I anticipate for higher education is the diversification of the education portfolio (different forms of education for different needs). I have discussed many times about how professional learning (in addition to degree programmes) opens higher education up, along with the quality assurance, research-led teaching and pedagogies of university-led education, to support lifelong learning, career development and enhancement of practice in a wide range of professional sectors. If the traditional structures of universities and higher education require a ‘transformational change’, then for me it would be to really take seriously the third branch of activity of ‘professional learning’ alongside the traditional ‘degree teaching’ and ‘research’ strands of higher education. That needs academic and professional roles to support and lead on a different approach to the design, development and teaching for professional learning, recognising the complementary functions and acknowledging the difference in learner audience.
There is opportunity here to emerge from sector-wide challenges, by forming a close interplay between teaching, research and professional learning. This offers a route for institutions to remain relevant and demonstrate public good to a wider segment of the population than ever before. There is potential, through such positive impact on individuals over their career and life, to shift narratives in favour of the role of higher education in society. Opportunity needs rapidity, to bring those benefits within short socio-political timescales, and the educational offer needs to reflect both long-term and immediate learning needs.
However, new ventures in higher education have to go alongside a conscious awareness of interdisciplinarity, human experience and the importance of all subjects to the development of knowledge. Creativity, artistic exploration and scientific reasoning come together to make education relatable and meaningful. Focusing education on business principles should not be at the sacrifice of the richness of all aspects of human endeavour.
Higher education doesn’t need to completely re-lay its tracks, it needs to add more routes and enable better switching between them.
References
- HM Government (2025). Post-16 Education and Skills. CP 1412. London: HMSO.
- OfS (2025a). OfS analysis finds continued pressure on university finances. Office for Students. 8 May 2025.
- OfS (2025b). Significant challenges continue to face higher education finances – with nearly half facing deficits in 2025-26. Office for Students. 20 November 2025.
Short post, open thinking are posts of ill-formed ideas and notes that I’ve not expanded into articles. They are shared here in case they stimulate comment or ideas elsewhere.
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