Markets and motivation in part-time postgraduate education

Abstract

Recent policy in higher education in many countries has had a number of elements which are broadly economic. Current British policies emphasise the relationship of higher education to the economy, reflecting human capital theory, and competition between institutions, reflecting notions of the 'market'. The 1997 UK Government White Paper on higher education introduced an explicit price mechanism--tuition fees payable by students--into the full-time undergraduate system. The article reports the results of a small-scale study of the views of enquirers interested in, and enrolled students on, similar pinT-time master's courses in three proximate institutions about their motives for studying and the impact of price and other factors on their choice of course. Part-time postgraduate provision is one area in which empirical evidence is available about the operation of price factors, since there is considerable variation in course fees. Since (ironically), national data do not capture details of part-time fee levels, studies have to be locally-based. The study suggests that whilst human capital theory explains their behaviour in the market, students are motivated mainly by non-pecuniary considerations, and that monetary benefits and price are not as critical factors as policy-makers appear to think.

“Have I learnt it?” Evaluating skills for resource‐based study using electronic resources

“…Collis (1996) describes professional learners as self-directed learners who focus their learning on a specific field which is of direct and immediate relevance to their work. Similar observations come from findings by Pratt, Hillier and Mace (1999), where postgraduate students' priorities were to upgrade their theoretical knowledge in order to inform professional practice.…”

Teaching quality and student satisfaction: nexus or simulacrum?

“…But student-customers cannot meaningfully be asked about fitness for use because they haven't begun to use the product. If every student in a university studies every subject with an eye to his or her future employment -which is also not true because, as research indicates, even students in professional Masters programs don't do that (Pratt et al 1999) -then the time factor intrudes, as it does with cars and whitegoods and other major purchases. The student won't know until some time after graduation how good the product is.…”

Understanding the postgraduate education market for UK‐based students: a review and empirical study

“…In one study it was found that students do not behave like rational consumers when deciding which postgraduate course to study. 18 One would assume that potential postgraduate students would obtain information of sufficient quantity and Rudd found that postgraduate research students tended to stay at the institution of their first degree because of its reputation; they liked the way graduate education was organised there; the institution was familiar to them; it was easy to stay where they were; and because of family or personal commitments. 20 Students who opted to go elsewhere were attracted by the reputation of the institution, department or academic staff.…”