Universality (The Movie)

In 2030, one company - Universality - controls 71% of all higher education.

This film documents what it is like to study at, teach at, and work with Universality.

Universality - the singular college for the connected world.

It's incredible to think how quickly

Universality has changed the marketplace for Higher Education in the UK.

Using OER materials and peer support,

both of which are available to all for free -

and coupling this with paid for tutorials, practical sessions

and examinations and accreditation

it has offered opportunities

to students and employers to benefit from Higher Education.

It has also completely changed the nature of academic employment in the UK

In this short film we will be talking to some of the key stakeholders.

Our students

"Learning that fits the way I live my life... and the needs of my employer"

"I`m investing in my future. I pay only for what I need"

"It's the flexibility that works for me.

I only pay for what I use and I get where and when I want it.

I've been studying chemistry mainly through watching lectures

and interacting with the materials.

though I paid for a couple of tutorials too.

I can't afford the practical week though

I'm saving up to take the level one exam next year.

Formative tests are predicting a B for me at the moment

so I want to get a bit more work in

The other students have been really helpful

in pointing me towards the right materials.

And it will take me a year to save up the fee as well.

Our associated employers...

we employ graduates who can start work on day 1.

We can access training and qualifications

that directly meet our immediate business needs.

SIMON HAZELL, HR DIRECTOR, BEACON MEDIA:

"We've employed exclusively graduates for years,

but we've always found we've had to retrain them

in our way of doing things

before they can start work.

In business, we need to find employees that meet our immediate needs,

but by the time we've retrained them for six months

we might as well not have bothered

- we need something else."

"With Universality we have our corporate training

built in to what the students learn,

so they start with us

and they've already got the skills and knowledge they need to do a good job,

instead of a degree in something irrelevant.

No more graduate trouble makers,

just good workers ready to start their career with us"

Our staff...

I build my reputation and earning power

through releasing open resources.

I work with employers to make sure that that students have the right skills.

DR HEATHER CAMPBELL, ANTHROPOLOGY TUTOR, UNIVERSALITY INC.

"Working for Universality was a natural result of the popularity of my materials,

one of my lectures had the highest student and peer satisfaction rating for over two years.

Now I'm paid based on these ratings

and I'm reaching millions of students every day."

"At my level I don't get involved with tutorials or student support,

unless the student is willing to pay the premium.

I do a lot of custom stuff for key business partners,

it's very well paid.

There were some nice things about the old universities:

the sense of community, the sense of being a part of history...

and I quite enjoyed some of the research too.

But these days I'm recognised as being a good tutor,

and I've got a huge international profile as one of Universality's rising stars."

The government...

we are delighted by the way universality has invigorated the HE market.

Universality awards accredited UK degrees.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CAROLINE SPENCER MP, MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

"We all loved the Universality concept,

but it still came as a surprise how quickly it became the dominant mode of teaching.

Like Spotify did with music in the late noughties,

it made most business models look antiquated.

It's hard to believe that in 2010

there were more than one hundred UK universities

- these days 71% of undergraduate qualifications worldwide

are awarded through Universality.

We were hoping for something like this

when we seperated degree awarding powers from teaching, back in 2012.

Some people are worried about a monopoly,

but why worry when so many students are learning so much

that could benefit them in their career."

Our Chief Executive Officer...

we use open educational resources

and then charge students for support, testing, and to graduate.

Our staff costs are low,

and we make additional revenue via display advertisments and student fees.

CHARLES VINCENT, VICE-CHANCELLOR/CEO, UNIVERSALITY INC

"We've built a huge and profitable business,

with millions of customers.

It's a huge step away from the amateurism of the old university sector.

Tutor's roles are now clearly defined,

and we pay them for what they actually do

and how much business they attract.

And were an ethical business

- we're putting all our materials online for free for anyone to use."

"We charge students for tutorials,

for face-to-face activities,

for exams and graduation ,

and the fees for the last two are reduced

when they pay for other services.

But even so, a third of our students just pay for the exams.

Our Academics are paid to produce materials

good enough to draw people in to paying for more services."

"I'm delighted to be a part of this brave new world"

Universality - the singular college for the connected world.

this is only one possible picture of higher education in 2030.

"...we deliver practices that we claim radical, but which simply replicate or re-produce a dominant political economy, in line with the ideology of accepted business models. So that which we claim as innovatory becomes subservient to a dominant mode of production and merely enables institutions to have power- over our products and labour, rather than it being a shared project..witness the desire for HE to become more "business-like" (Richard Hall, De Monfort University)

It might be that you wouldn't choose to work or to study at Universality.

The quotes below from Richard Hall and from Jim Groom

might suggest some areas we may wish to consider.

if we have an alternative vision.

"What we have is an economy disinvesting its own workforce from the bottom up in the name of efficiency, cost cutting measures, and productivity - but in the end we're all just fodder for profit-driven system that depends up the exploitation of the many for the wealth of the few". (Jim Groom, University of Mary Washington).

We have a lot of thinking to do

"What we have is an economy disinvesting its own workforce from the bottom up in the name of efficiency, cost cutting measures, and productivity - but in the end we're all just fodder for profit-driven system that depends up the exploitation of the many for the wealth of the few."(Jim Groom, University of Mary Washington).

CREDITS: Universality, Inic.

Available under a creative commons attribution license.

Produced by David Kernohan.

Based on a workshop by David Kernohan, Sheila MacNeil, Heather Price and Li Yuan at ALT-C 2010.

Cheesy stock photography from the Microsoft Clip Art collection.

Music by "This Economic Climate"

The opinions expressed in this film

may not be those of the organisations and individuals involved.

Any resemblance to any people, companies or institutions, living or dead, is purely coincidental.