HEFCE: sustaining science and other key vulnerable subjects

Professor David Eastwood, Chief Executive HEFCE21 October 2008

HEFCE sustains Science

Background

2004 Letter to HEFCE from Secretary of State:

• courses that are of national strategic importance, where intervention might be appropriate to enable them to be available

• the types of intervention which could be considered

• core principle that higher education institutions are and must remain autonomous, independent bodies, making their own decisions

Roberts: key 2005 conclusions

– Dynamism of English HE a great strength - interventions should be kept to a minimum.

– Attention focused on subjects both strategically important and vulnerable.

– Government’s role to designate subjects as strategically important and HEFCE’s role to consider whether such subjects are vulnerable and necessary interventions.

– Vulnerability measured by mismatch of supply and demand, or a concentration in institutions which may be vulnerable. Departmental closures do not of themselves mean vulnerability.

HEFCE action since 2005

£350m programme (2005-06 to 2010-11) includes

– £15m to date for demand-raising and accessibility of HE in chemistry, physics, mathematics and engineering

– additional £100m (2007-08 to 2010-11) to sustain very high cost and vulnerable science provision

– 5,300 ASNs allocated in STEM subjects between 2006 and 2008. And more since eg Coventry – 380 ASNs for FDs and STEM

– £96m (2008-09 to 2010-11) SIVS allocation for ELQ mitigation

– benefits of letting us know about changes in SIVS provision

– Land based Studies review

Land based studies review

– Led by Professor Maggie Gill

– Distinctive nature of provision within three monotechnics

– ‘Many of the of the issues faced by land-based provision are common to a wider spread of higher education provision and can be addressed by the same good management and strategic planning processes’

– £4m for Harper Adams University College to set up the Rural Employer Engagement Development Network in collaboration with the RAC and the Landex group of specialist land-based colleges

Research capacity building and collaboration: STEM subjects

• Developing regional research capacity with RDAs– £4m for Great Western Research; £4m for Midlands

Physics; £10m for Birmingham and Warwick Science City Alliance

• Developing national research capacity with the Research Councils– £4m for integrative mammalian biology; £6m to date

for engineering and physical sciences; £11.2m for language based area studies

Follett: 2008 SIVS reviewSupport for 2005 policy framework plus:

– skills in the workplace – integration of supply and demand measures– recognise complexity and intervene selectively in

specific places: innovation and collaboration, a strongly evidenced case for vulnerability, and national as well as regional enhancement

– LBS should not be considered vulnerable

Welcome progress of demand in STEM subjects

After LBS review: strategically important and

vulnerable subjects

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics

Area studies and related minority languages

Modern foreign languages

Quantitative social science

On now to the data: A level entries 2002-2008

• Mathematics entries rose 30% to 57,620; further maths up 88% to 8,440

• Chemistry up 12% to 36,360

• Physics down 11% (although stabilising)

• French down 7% to 12,590

• Other modern languages up 43% to 5,530

80%

90%

100%

110%

120%

130%

140%

150%

160%

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

100%ChemistryPhysicsGeneral, Civil and Chemical EngineeringAll subjects

UCAS applications 2003 to 2007

HESA cost centre data 2003-04 to 2006-07

• Home student numbers (all disciplines) rose by 4%

• Home STEM numbers decrease by 2%– Chemistry 21%– Mathematics 8%– Physics -1%– General engineering - 13%– Electrical, electronic & computer engineering -19%

• Languages 11% (includes credits and modules)

Latest from UCAS

UCAS acceptances for 2008-09

(as of 15 Oct)– mathematics has increased by 8.1% to 6,421

compared with 2007-08– chemistry is up 4.4% to 4,004– physics is up 3.3% to 3,325– and engineering averages 6.4% (ranging from 14.9%

for civil engineering to -11.3% for combinations within engineering)

– all subject areas growth is 6.3%

So what have we learnt (1)?

– Evidence Ltd evaluation of SIVS programme (available under publications at www.hefce.ac.uk)

– projects being delivered in professional and thorough way: value added from working with partners and funders

– growth and importance of applied and cognate areas of science

– one programme to raise STEM demand, rather than several in competition: clearer outcome measures and challenge needed

We are not alone (1)

International experience: • importance of STEM• advantage of block grant - freedom and security to

invest and disinvest• OECD Education at a glance (2008)

– the number of UK science graduates has increased – and there is a high proportion of science graduates among the young employed.

We are not alone (2)

Arrow and Capron, Quarterly Journal of Economics 1959

• servant shortage of World War II • ‘Rather than admit that they could not pay the

higher wages necessary to keep help, many individuals found it more felicitous to speak of a ``shortage’’. There is reason to think that at least some of the complaints of shortage in the scientist-engineer market have the same cause’

Wakeham and Physics

• Significant activity to date (Additional T funding and ASNs, Stimulating Physics, Midlands Physics Alliance)

• £12.5m investment in SEPNET out of £25m total

• Working with RCUK on the response to Wakeham:– Continuing to raise demand– Developing TRAC to inform a review of price groups– Exploring the user-led and interdisciplinary dimensions of the

REF– Refining our approach to strategic support

• But remember Roberts on intervention

Future Approach (1)

2007 Sainsbury Review of Science and Innovation:

• ‘HEFCE should transform the SIVS Advisory Group into an Advisory Group on Graduate Supply and Demand….publishing an annual report describing: undergraduate subject trends; recent graduate jobs and salaries; and the subjects where….there are, or are likely shortly to be, shortages of graduates with key skills.’

Future approach (2)

Annual monitoring of trends and further review of vulnerability and policy framework in 2011:

• Peter Saraga appointed chair the new group

• Diverse indicators of graduate demand – SSCs and others

• Events: reviews of tuition fees and price groups, RAE etc…

Graduate Opinion: 2005-06 cohortProportion of graduates who required their subject three and a half

years after graduation (Source: HESA Destination of Leavers Survey)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Chem

istry

Physic

s, as

trono

my

Engin

eerin

g

Mat

hem

atica

l scie

nces

Land

Bas

ed S

tudie

s

Mod

ern

Foreig

n la

ngua

ges

Med

icine

Bioscie

nces

Pharm

acy &

pha

rmac

olog

y

Compu

ting

& ITS

Med

ia Stu

dies

Graduate Salaries: 2005-06 cohort

Mean salary three and a half years after graduation (Source: HESA Desination of Leavers Survey)

£0

£5,000

£10,000

£15,000

£20,000

£25,000

£30,000

£35,000

£40,000

£45,000

Chem

istry

Physic

s, as

trono

my

Engine

ering

Mat

hem

atica

l scie

nces

Land

Bas

ed S

tudie

s

Mod

ern

Foreig

n lan

guag

es

Med

icine

Bioscie

nces

Pharm

acy &

pha

rmac

ology

Compu

ting

& ITS

Med

ia Stu

dies

Today’s event

• Help us develop our support for strategically important and vulnerable subjects over the next three years

• Three workshops: • HEFCE's policy towards strategically important and

vulnerable subjects.• Development of an integrated national HE STEM

demand raising programme.• Higher level skills in the workforce and strategically

important and vulnerable subjects