Lord Browne of Madingley visited City of Westminster College on Thursday 8 July as part of his research for the Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance.
In this important Review visit to a London Further Education college, he was accompanied by another member of the Review's Panel, Diane Coyle, and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Colleges (AoC) Martin Doel.
During the two-hour visit, Lord Browne had discussion sessions with students following Higher Education courses at the College and lecturers who teach them. He also toured the College’s £102m new campus under construction on Paddington Green with Chair of Governors Jude Boardman and Principal Keith Cowell.
Lord Browne met 13 students following Access to HE, Foundation Degree, BSc and HNC courses at City of Westminster College. These comprised students of Medical Technology, Audio Technology, Building Services Engineering, Business, and Photography.
Lord Browne was particularly keen to find out more about the students’ individual experiences of studying Higher Education courses in a college setting. He asked for their views on how Government can make the experience of studying HE courses easier for students. He also wanted to find out why they chose the college route and what, if any, financial or employer support they received.
Following his session with students, Lord Browne spoke with City of Westminster College staff who teach HE courses. His particular focuses were finance and support, resources and equipment and ways in which increased employer involvement in HE courses could benefit colleges and their students.
Lord Browne described the sessions as very valuable to the Review and in particular he thanked the student participants for sharing their: “extraordinary and inspiring stories”.
The Independent Review was launched last November and its remit is to make recommendations to the Government on future fees and financial support policies for full- and part-time students on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Currently FE colleges provide 10 per cent of higher education places nationally, usually to adult students studying part-time.
Further Education colleges offer a valuable route for career enhancement to students who do not want or are not able to attend university. As well as delivering excellent value for money for Government, they are more affordable for students - enabling them to combine study with existing career and life commitments and choose a college close to home in order to save on living costs.