WEBVTT 00:00:00.335 --> 00:00:05.783 In 2030, one company - Universality - controls 71% of all higher education. 00:00:05.783 --> 00:00:08.963 This film documents what it is like to study at, teach at, and work with Universality. 00:00:08.963 --> 00:00:10.253 Universality - the singular college for the connected world. 00:00:10.253 --> 00:00:12.513 It's incredible to think how quickly 00:00:12.513 --> 00:00:17.028 Universality has changed the marketplace for Higher Education in the UK. 00:00:17.059 --> 00:00:20.513 Using OER materials and peer support, 00:00:20.513 --> 00:00:23.431 both of which are available to all for free - 00:00:23.431 --> 00:00:27.951 and coupling this with paid for tutorials, practical sessions 00:00:27.951 --> 00:00:31.019 and examinations and accreditation 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:32.624 it has offered opportunities 00:00:32.624 --> 00:00:38.060 to students and employers to benefit from Higher Education. 00:00:38.060 --> 00:00:42.512 It has also completely changed the nature of academic employment in the UK 00:00:42.512 --> 00:00:47.329 In this short film we will be talking to some of the key stakeholders. 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:48.177 Our students 00:00:48.177 --> 00:00:50.041 "Learning that fits the way I live my life... and the needs of my employer" 00:00:50.041 --> 00:00:52.048 "I`m investing in my future. I pay only for what I need" 00:00:52.064 --> 00:00:53.979 "It's the flexibility that works for me. 00:00:53.979 --> 00:00:56.884 I only pay for what I use and I get where and when I want it. 00:00:56.900 --> 00:00:59.756 I've been studying chemistry mainly through watching lectures 00:00:59.756 --> 00:01:01.437 and interacting with the materials. 00:01:01.437 --> 00:01:04.120 though I paid for a couple of tutorials too. 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:06.150 I can't afford the practical week though 00:01:06.150 --> 00:01:08.843 I'm saving up to take the level one exam next year. 00:01:08.843 --> 00:01:11.398 Formative tests are predicting a B for me at the moment 00:01:11.398 --> 00:01:12.868 so I want to get a bit more work in 00:01:12.868 --> 00:01:14.965 The other students have been really helpful 00:01:14.965 --> 00:01:17.180 in pointing me towards the right materials. 00:01:17.180 --> 00:01:19.597 And it will take me a year to save up the fee as well. 00:01:19.597 --> 00:01:20.403 Our associated employers... 00:01:20.403 --> 00:01:21.833 we employ graduates who can start work on day 1. 00:01:21.833 --> 00:01:22.949 We can access training and qualifications 00:01:22.979 --> 00:01:24.463 that directly meet our immediate business needs. 00:01:24.463 --> 00:01:25.136 SIMON HAZELL, HR DIRECTOR, BEACON MEDIA: 00:01:25.136 --> 00:01:27.721 "We've employed exclusively graduates for years, 00:01:27.721 --> 00:01:30.659 but we've always found we've had to retrain them 00:01:30.674 --> 00:01:31.744 in our way of doing things 00:01:31.744 --> 00:01:33.706 before they can start work. 00:01:33.706 --> 00:01:37.436 In business, we need to find employees that meet our immediate needs, 00:01:37.436 --> 00:01:39.370 but by the time we've retrained them for six months 00:01:39.370 --> 00:01:40.812 we might as well not have bothered 00:01:40.812 --> 00:01:42.695 - we need something else." 00:01:42.695 --> 00:01:44.890 "With Universality we have our corporate training 00:01:44.890 --> 00:01:46.428 built in to what the students learn, 00:01:46.428 --> 00:01:48.099 so they start with us 00:01:48.099 --> 00:01:51.642 and they've already got the skills and knowledge they need to do a good job, 00:01:51.642 --> 00:01:54.149 instead of a degree in something irrelevant. 00:01:54.149 --> 00:01:55.887 No more graduate trouble makers, 00:01:55.887 --> 00:01:59.023 just good workers ready to start their career with us" 00:01:59.023 --> 00:01:59.553 Our staff... 00:01:59.553 --> 00:02:01.312 I build my reputation and earning power 00:02:01.312 --> 00:02:02.443 through releasing open resources. 00:02:02.443 --> 00:02:04.010 I work with employers to make sure that that students have the right skills. 00:02:04.010 --> 00:02:05.480 DR HEATHER CAMPBELL, ANTHROPOLOGY TUTOR, UNIVERSALITY INC. 00:02:05.480 --> 00:02:10.059 "Working for Universality was a natural result of the popularity of my materials, 00:02:10.090 --> 00:02:14.706 one of my lectures had the highest student and peer satisfaction rating for over two years. 00:02:14.706 --> 00:02:16.934 Now I'm paid based on these ratings 00:02:16.934 --> 00:02:19.311 and I'm reaching millions of students every day." 00:02:19.311 --> 00:02:23.282 "At my level I don't get involved with tutorials or student support, 00:02:23.282 --> 00:02:25.711 unless the student is willing to pay the premium. 00:02:25.711 --> 00:02:28.544 I do a lot of custom stuff for key business partners, 00:02:28.544 --> 00:02:30.779 it's very well paid. 00:02:30.779 --> 00:02:33.003 There were some nice things about the old universities: 00:02:33.003 --> 00:02:35.397 the sense of community, the sense of being a part of history... 00:02:35.397 --> 00:02:38.539 and I quite enjoyed some of the research too. 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:40.836 But these days I'm recognised as being a good tutor, 00:02:40.836 --> 00:02:45.373 and I've got a huge international profile as one of Universality's rising stars." 00:02:45.373 --> 00:02:46.583 The government... 00:02:46.583 --> 00:02:47.363 we are delighted by the way universality has invigorated the HE market. 00:02:47.363 --> 00:02:49.272 Universality awards accredited UK degrees. 00:02:49.272 --> 00:02:49.928 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CAROLINE SPENCER MP, MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION 00:02:49.928 --> 00:02:52.239 "We all loved the Universality concept, 00:02:52.239 --> 00:02:56.288 but it still came as a surprise how quickly it became the dominant mode of teaching. 00:02:56.288 --> 00:02:59.597 Like Spotify did with music in the late noughties, 00:02:59.597 --> 00:03:02.544 it made most business models look antiquated. 00:03:02.544 --> 00:03:05.339 It's hard to believe that in 2010 00:03:05.339 --> 00:03:08.187 there were more than one hundred UK universities 00:03:08.187 --> 00:03:12.209 - these days 71% of undergraduate qualifications worldwide 00:03:12.209 --> 00:03:16.095 are awarded through Universality. 00:03:16.110 --> 00:03:18.315 We were hoping for something like this 00:03:18.315 --> 00:03:22.240 when we seperated degree awarding powers from teaching, back in 2012. 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:24.967 Some people are worried about a monopoly, 00:03:24.967 --> 00:03:28.864 but why worry when so many students are learning so much 00:03:28.864 --> 00:03:31.121 that could benefit them in their career." 00:03:31.121 --> 00:03:32.180 Our Chief Executive Officer... 00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:32.845 we use open educational resources 00:03:32.845 --> 00:03:33.915 and then charge students for support, testing, and to graduate. 00:03:33.915 --> 00:03:34.984 Our staff costs are low, 00:03:34.984 --> 00:03:35.740 and we make additional revenue via display advertisments and student fees. 00:03:35.740 --> 00:03:36.997 CHARLES VINCENT, VICE-CHANCELLOR/CEO, UNIVERSALITY INC 00:03:36.997 --> 00:03:40.076 "We've built a huge and profitable business, 00:03:40.076 --> 00:03:41.479 with millions of customers. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:47.095 It's a huge step away from the amateurism of the old university sector. 00:03:47.095 --> 00:03:50.170 Tutor's roles are now clearly defined, 00:03:50.170 --> 00:03:52.307 and we pay them for what they actually do 00:03:52.307 --> 00:03:54.315 and how much business they attract. 00:03:54.315 --> 00:03:56.020 And were an ethical business 00:03:56.020 --> 00:03:59.128 - we're putting all our materials online for free for anyone to use." 00:03:59.128 --> 00:04:03.273 "We charge students for tutorials, 00:04:03.273 --> 00:04:04.844 for face-to-face activities, 00:04:04.844 --> 00:04:06.753 for exams and graduation , 00:04:06.753 --> 00:04:08.581 and the fees for the last two are reduced 00:04:08.581 --> 00:04:10.861 when they pay for other services. 00:04:10.861 --> 00:04:13.435 But even so, a third of our students just pay for the exams. 00:04:13.435 --> 00:04:17.178 Our Academics are paid to produce materials 00:04:17.178 --> 00:04:19.919 good enough to draw people in to paying for more services." 00:04:19.919 --> 00:04:22.587 "I'm delighted to be a part of this brave new world" 00:04:22.587 --> 00:04:24.887 Universality - the singular college for the connected world. 00:04:24.887 --> 00:04:28.194 this is only one possible picture of higher education in 2030. 00:04:28.209 --> 00:04:30.786 "...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) 00:04:30.786 --> 00:04:34.496 It might be that you wouldn't choose to work or to study at Universality. 00:04:34.521 --> 00:04:38.779 The quotes below from Richard Hall and from Jim Groom 00:04:38.821 --> 00:04:42.557 might suggest some areas we may wish to consider. 00:04:42.572 --> 00:04:43.124 if we have an alternative vision. 00:04:43.140 --> 00:04:45.335 "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). 00:04:45.335 --> 00:04:46.699 We have a lot of thinking to do 00:04:46.715 --> 00:04:56.683 "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). 00:04:57.523 --> 00:05:00.030 CREDITS: Universality, Inic. 00:05:00.030 --> 00:05:02.470 Available under a creative commons attribution license. 00:05:02.470 --> 00:05:04.075 Produced by David Kernohan. 00:05:04.075 --> 00:05:06.882 Based on a workshop by David Kernohan, Sheila MacNeil, Heather Price and Li Yuan at ALT-C 2010. 00:05:06.882 --> 00:05:09.757 Cheesy stock photography from the Microsoft Clip Art collection. 00:05:09.757 --> 00:05:11.562 Music by "This Economic Climate" 00:05:11.562 --> 00:05:12.529 The opinions expressed in this film 00:05:12.529 --> 00:05:13.334 may not be those of the organisations and individuals involved. 00:05:13.334 --> 00:05:14.018 Any resemblance to any people, companies or institutions, living or dead, is purely coincidental.