Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience

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Independent Inquiry to address how the 'Google Generation' could drive change in higher education

 

 

This UK-wide inquiry will assess how a widespread use of new technologies by university and college students could champion change in higher education.

 

 

 

The Committee of Inquiry is:

 

1. Chaired by Professor Sir David Melville CBE, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Kent
2. Supported by the leading bodies in UK higher and further education

 

The Committee will assess:

 

1. Technologies such as social networking and mobile devices
2. The changing behaviour and attitudes of learners
3. Issues for universities and college policy makers

 

 

The past few years have seen dramatic growth in the availability of a wide range of affordable, high quality personal communication tools and technologies. Young people in particular are shaping their lives and influencing their environment in line with these highly interactive technologies which they now take for granted as part of everyday living.  While developments in technology have been charted and changes in learner behaviour noted, there are significant policy and strategic challenges which, national education bodies believe, need greater and more widespread attention.  It is these that the Committee of Inquiry has been set up to address. 

 

 

Committee Timescale: 

 

 

Inaugural Meeting	February	2008	Context, terms of reference, membership; work plan and working method; related programmes and studies
Second Meeting	April	2008	Activities and findings to date; proposals for interim report
Third Meeting:	July	2008	Interim findings
Fourth Meeting	September	2008	Emerging report
Fifth Meeting	November	2008	Draft final report
Sixth Meeting	December	2008	Final report

 

 

 

 The Committee, with membership drawn from the university, college, school, student and employer communities,

will run for around 9 to 12 months and will work to produce a final report by the end of year.

 

 

 

 

Terms of Reference

 

The Committee’s terms of reference are as follows:

In the interests of informing ongoing policy and strategic level responses to changing learner expectations and experiences of the newest technologies, to inquire into how learners approaching and recently entered full-time higher education, envisage drawing on such experiences and technologies in their HE experience and, taking account of experience gained with learners already on course, to identify and explore the key consequent issues for HEIs.

 

The Inquiry will have regard to:

 

*  the extent, nature and purpose of these groups’ use of social networking and other new learning practices;

*  their expectations of HEIs in respect of the use of these technologies;

*  potential differences in the use of technologies according to the user’s gender, class and age;

*  range of other changing learner experiences, including enrolment, timetabling, module choice,

*  communication with tutors, and the rising use of virtual learning environments;

*  implications including ICT services, marketing, recruitment, induction, approaches to learning and teaching (pedagogy), outreach and widening participation, guidance, staff

*  development, quality in all dimensions  (from the perspective of accessing the learner voice), and physical space;

*  the implications for provision for other groups of learners, e.g. those in workplace learning, those from overseas, mature learners, part-time learners;

*  international comparisons;

*  relevant current and ongoing work in related areas.

 

In broad terms, the Inquiry is to address the implications for higher education institutions of the experience and expectations of learners, both those approaching and those recently entered full-time higher education, in the light of their increasing use of the newest technologies - including as these impact on such matters as social networking - and other factors affecting the learner experience.  The Inquiry will be concerned with learners of all ages, but the experience and expectation of young learners, as yardsticks for the future, will provide its baseline.

 

 

 

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