Prof Dave Phoenix, vice-chancellor of the Open University, has argued that government policy should not focus on who can be excluded from higher education, but on how more people can develop higher-level skills through a more integrated education system. His comments come in response to the debate about minimum entry requirements for university loans, including proposals that students could be required to pass GCSE English to access funding.
Skills shortages and productivity challenges
Phoenix said the current debate risks asking the wrong question. At a time of persistent skills shortages and productivity challenges, he argued, the focus should be on inclusion rather than exclusion. He noted that many capable people of all ages do not follow conventional educational pathways due to disrupted schooling, caring responsibilities, disability, financial hardship, or the need to enter work early. Others simply develop the confidence and capability to succeed later in life.
Open University success stories
According to Phoenix, in the last 10 years alone, 25,000 people who began their studies with qualifications at GCSE level or below have gone on to complete an Open University qualification. He said that open entry, when done by design, is not incompatible with high standards. The Open University has always maintained rigorous academic expectations and is categorised as “gold standard” with the English teaching excellence framework.
Measuring potential
Phoenix argued that course quality should be judged by teaching, student support, institutional standards and graduate outcomes, not by the grades students achieved before they arrived. He said that if policymakers are concerned about student outcomes or abuse of the system, the answer requires consideration of the current Education Act to ensure concerns can be managed through strong regulation, data transparency and effective support. “What we should not do is measure potential, at a single point in a person’s life, and use that to determine their future opportunities,” he said.
