1 00:00:00,335 --> 00:00:05,783 In 2030, one company - Universality - controls 71% of all higher education. 2 00:00:05,783 --> 00:00:08,963 This film documents what it is like to study at, teach at, and work with Universality. 3 00:00:08,963 --> 00:00:10,253 Universality - the singular college for the connected world. 4 00:00:10,253 --> 00:00:12,513 It's incredible to think how quickly 5 00:00:12,513 --> 00:00:17,028 Universality has changed the marketplace for Higher Education in the UK. 6 00:00:17,059 --> 00:00:20,513 Using OER materials and peer support, 7 00:00:20,513 --> 00:00:23,431 both of which are available to all for free - 8 00:00:23,431 --> 00:00:27,951 and coupling this with paid for tutorials, practical sessions 9 00:00:27,951 --> 00:00:31,019 and examinations and accreditation 10 00:00:31,019 --> 00:00:32,624 it has offered opportunities 11 00:00:32,624 --> 00:00:38,060 to students and employers to benefit from Higher Education. 12 00:00:38,060 --> 00:00:42,512 It has also completely changed the nature of academic employment in the UK 13 00:00:42,512 --> 00:00:47,329 In this short film we will be talking to some of the key stakeholders. 14 00:00:47,329 --> 00:00:48,177 Our students 15 00:00:48,177 --> 00:00:50,041 "Learning that fits the way I live my life... and the needs of my employer" 16 00:00:50,041 --> 00:00:52,048 "I`m investing in my future. I pay only for what I need" 17 00:00:52,064 --> 00:00:53,979 "It's the flexibility that works for me. 18 00:00:53,979 --> 00:00:56,884 I only pay for what I use and I get where and when I want it. 19 00:00:56,900 --> 00:00:59,756 I've been studying chemistry mainly through watching lectures 20 00:00:59,756 --> 00:01:01,437 and interacting with the materials. 21 00:01:01,437 --> 00:01:04,120 though I paid for a couple of tutorials too. 22 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:06,150 I can't afford the practical week though 23 00:01:06,150 --> 00:01:08,843 I'm saving up to take the level one exam next year. 24 00:01:08,843 --> 00:01:11,398 Formative tests are predicting a B for me at the moment 25 00:01:11,398 --> 00:01:12,868 so I want to get a bit more work in 26 00:01:12,868 --> 00:01:14,965 The other students have been really helpful 27 00:01:14,965 --> 00:01:17,180 in pointing me towards the right materials. 28 00:01:17,180 --> 00:01:19,597 And it will take me a year to save up the fee as well. 29 00:01:19,597 --> 00:01:20,403 Our associated employers... 30 00:01:20,403 --> 00:01:21,833 we employ graduates who can start work on day 1. 31 00:01:21,833 --> 00:01:22,949 We can access training and qualifications 32 00:01:22,979 --> 00:01:24,463 that directly meet our immediate business needs. 33 00:01:24,463 --> 00:01:25,136 SIMON HAZELL, HR DIRECTOR, BEACON MEDIA: 34 00:01:25,136 --> 00:01:27,721 "We've employed exclusively graduates for years, 35 00:01:27,721 --> 00:01:30,659 but we've always found we've had to retrain them 36 00:01:30,674 --> 00:01:31,744 in our way of doing things 37 00:01:31,744 --> 00:01:33,706 before they can start work. 38 00:01:33,706 --> 00:01:37,436 In business, we need to find employees that meet our immediate needs, 39 00:01:37,436 --> 00:01:39,370 but by the time we've retrained them for six months 40 00:01:39,370 --> 00:01:40,812 we might as well not have bothered 41 00:01:40,812 --> 00:01:42,695 - we need something else." 42 00:01:42,695 --> 00:01:44,890 "With Universality we have our corporate training 43 00:01:44,890 --> 00:01:46,428 built in to what the students learn, 44 00:01:46,428 --> 00:01:48,099 so they start with us 45 00:01:48,099 --> 00:01:51,642 and they've already got the skills and knowledge they need to do a good job, 46 00:01:51,642 --> 00:01:54,149 instead of a degree in something irrelevant. 47 00:01:54,149 --> 00:01:55,887 No more graduate trouble makers, 48 00:01:55,887 --> 00:01:59,023 just good workers ready to start their career with us" 49 00:01:59,023 --> 00:01:59,553 Our staff... 50 00:01:59,553 --> 00:02:01,312 I build my reputation and earning power 51 00:02:01,312 --> 00:02:02,443 through releasing open resources. 52 00:02:02,443 --> 00:02:04,010 I work with employers to make sure that that students have the right skills. 53 00:02:04,010 --> 00:02:05,480 DR HEATHER CAMPBELL, ANTHROPOLOGY TUTOR, UNIVERSALITY INC. 54 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:10,059 "Working for Universality was a natural result of the popularity of my materials, 55 00:02:10,090 --> 00:02:14,706 one of my lectures had the highest student and peer satisfaction rating for over two years. 56 00:02:14,706 --> 00:02:16,934 Now I'm paid based on these ratings 57 00:02:16,934 --> 00:02:19,311 and I'm reaching millions of students every day." 58 00:02:19,311 --> 00:02:23,282 "At my level I don't get involved with tutorials or student support, 59 00:02:23,282 --> 00:02:25,711 unless the student is willing to pay the premium. 60 00:02:25,711 --> 00:02:28,544 I do a lot of custom stuff for key business partners, 61 00:02:28,544 --> 00:02:30,779 it's very well paid. 62 00:02:30,779 --> 00:02:33,003 There were some nice things about the old universities: 63 00:02:33,003 --> 00:02:35,397 the sense of community, the sense of being a part of history... 64 00:02:35,397 --> 00:02:38,539 and I quite enjoyed some of the research too. 65 00:02:38,539 --> 00:02:40,836 But these days I'm recognised as being a good tutor, 66 00:02:40,836 --> 00:02:45,373 and I've got a huge international profile as one of Universality's rising stars." 67 00:02:45,373 --> 00:02:46,583 The government... 68 00:02:46,583 --> 00:02:47,363 we are delighted by the way universality has invigorated the HE market. 69 00:02:47,363 --> 00:02:49,272 Universality awards accredited UK degrees. 70 00:02:49,272 --> 00:02:49,928 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE CAROLINE SPENCER MP, MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION 71 00:02:49,928 --> 00:02:52,239 "We all loved the Universality concept, 72 00:02:52,239 --> 00:02:56,288 but it still came as a surprise how quickly it became the dominant mode of teaching. 73 00:02:56,288 --> 00:02:59,597 Like Spotify did with music in the late noughties, 74 00:02:59,597 --> 00:03:02,544 it made most business models look antiquated. 75 00:03:02,544 --> 00:03:05,339 It's hard to believe that in 2010 76 00:03:05,339 --> 00:03:08,187 there were more than one hundred UK universities 77 00:03:08,187 --> 00:03:12,209 - these days 71% of undergraduate qualifications worldwide 78 00:03:12,209 --> 00:03:16,095 are awarded through Universality. 79 00:03:16,110 --> 00:03:18,315 We were hoping for something like this 80 00:03:18,315 --> 00:03:22,240 when we seperated degree awarding powers from teaching, back in 2012. 81 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,967 Some people are worried about a monopoly, 82 00:03:24,967 --> 00:03:28,864 but why worry when so many students are learning so much 83 00:03:28,864 --> 00:03:31,121 that could benefit them in their career." 84 00:03:31,121 --> 00:03:32,180 Our Chief Executive Officer... 85 00:03:32,180 --> 00:03:32,845 we use open educational resources 86 00:03:32,845 --> 00:03:33,915 and then charge students for support, testing, and to graduate. 87 00:03:33,915 --> 00:03:34,984 Our staff costs are low, 88 00:03:34,984 --> 00:03:35,740 and we make additional revenue via display advertisments and student fees. 89 00:03:35,740 --> 00:03:36,997 CHARLES VINCENT, VICE-CHANCELLOR/CEO, UNIVERSALITY INC 90 00:03:36,997 --> 00:03:40,076 "We've built a huge and profitable business, 91 00:03:40,076 --> 00:03:41,479 with millions of customers. 92 00:03:41,479 --> 00:03:47,095 It's a huge step away from the amateurism of the old university sector. 93 00:03:47,095 --> 00:03:50,170 Tutor's roles are now clearly defined, 94 00:03:50,170 --> 00:03:52,307 and we pay them for what they actually do 95 00:03:52,307 --> 00:03:54,315 and how much business they attract. 96 00:03:54,315 --> 00:03:56,020 And were an ethical business 97 00:03:56,020 --> 00:03:59,128 - we're putting all our materials online for free for anyone to use." 98 00:03:59,128 --> 00:04:03,273 "We charge students for tutorials, 99 00:04:03,273 --> 00:04:04,844 for face-to-face activities, 100 00:04:04,844 --> 00:04:06,753 for exams and graduation , 101 00:04:06,753 --> 00:04:08,581 and the fees for the last two are reduced 102 00:04:08,581 --> 00:04:10,861 when they pay for other services. 103 00:04:10,861 --> 00:04:13,435 But even so, a third of our students just pay for the exams. 104 00:04:13,435 --> 00:04:17,178 Our Academics are paid to produce materials 105 00:04:17,178 --> 00:04:19,919 good enough to draw people in to paying for more services." 106 00:04:19,919 --> 00:04:22,587 "I'm delighted to be a part of this brave new world" 107 00:04:22,587 --> 00:04:24,887 Universality - the singular college for the connected world. 108 00:04:24,887 --> 00:04:28,194 this is only one possible picture of higher education in 2030. 109 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) 110 00:04:30,786 --> 00:04:34,496 It might be that you wouldn't choose to work or to study at Universality. 111 00:04:34,521 --> 00:04:38,779 The quotes below from Richard Hall and from Jim Groom 112 00:04:38,821 --> 00:04:42,557 might suggest some areas we may wish to consider. 113 00:04:42,572 --> 00:04:43,124 if we have an alternative vision. 114 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). 115 00:04:45,335 --> 00:04:46,699 We have a lot of thinking to do 116 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). 117 00:04:57,523 --> 00:05:00,030 CREDITS: Universality, Inic. 118 00:05:00,030 --> 00:05:02,470 Available under a creative commons attribution license. 119 00:05:02,470 --> 00:05:04,075 Produced by David Kernohan. 120 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. 121 00:05:06,882 --> 00:05:09,757 Cheesy stock photography from the Microsoft Clip Art collection. 122 00:05:09,757 --> 00:05:11,562 Music by "This Economic Climate" 123 00:05:11,562 --> 00:05:12,529 The opinions expressed in this film 124 00:05:12,529 --> 00:05:13,334 may not be those of the organisations and individuals involved. 125 00:05:13,334 --> 00:05:14,018 Any resemblance to any people, companies or institutions, living or dead, is purely coincidental.