Is it Time to Rethink Our Model of Post-Secondary Education? Progressing a Tertiary Education Eco-System
- Ellen Hazelkorn, BH Associates
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Near universal participation in higher education has been a huge achievement for OECD countries. Yet, globalization and geopolitical shifts, an ageing population, the technological and digital revolutions leading to increasing use of automation and AI, and strategies for sustainable green and blue economy will continue to reshape our societies, how and where we live and the world of work.
What are the implications for our model of educational provision which has remained relatively unchanged as if it was still a system catering to a small elite? Attention is drawn to the other 50% – learners gradually being “left behind” by the current system and/or unable to access the system in any meaningful or sustained way.
Much more radical thinking is required as to how we structure, govern, fund and deliver post-secondary/post-compulsory education. This is driving many countries to reframe the policy discussion around the tertiary education eco-system, inclusive of formal, non-formal, “second-chance” and life-long learning opportunities. But, beyond the headlines what do we mean by tertiary education? What do we want to achieve?
Today, I want to look at some factors driving the shift to tertiary education. I also want to consider some international responses and what the elements of a tertiary system might be. But first, I want to reflect briefly on the concept of systems and raise the idea of a tertiary ecosystem.
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Professor Ellen Hazelkorn is Joint Managing Partner, BH Associates education consultants. She is Professor emeritus, Technological University Dublin (Ireland), and Joint Editor, Policy Reviews in Higher Education. She is member of the CGHE Advisory Board and Research Management Committee (RMC), and Research Fellow, Centre for International Higher Education, Boston College. Ellen is, inter alia, a member of the Quality Board for Icelandic Higher Education, the EU Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS) Advisory Group, and the Committee for Strategic Advice, EURASHE – the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education.
Ellen was policy advisor/board member of the Higher Education Authority (Ireland). She was a member of the Commission for the College of the Future (UK) and the Tertiary Education Future Initiative (Royal Society of Edinburgh & Young Academy of Scotland). She reviewed Post-Compulsory Education in Wales recommending the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (CTER), now being established by the Welsh Government. She recently developed the 5-year Higher Education Policy and Action Plan for Lebanon (Ministry of Education & Higher Education/UNESCO) and was UNESCO Lead/Coordinator, phase 1, CFITT project to develop higher technical education in six African countries (2021-2025). Ellen is currently advising the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) (Ireland) with respect to Progressing a Unified Tertiary System for Learning, Skills and Knowledge.
