§ 14. Dr. Brian Iddon (Bolton, South-East)What employer involvement there is in developing the curriculum of foundation degrees; and if he will make a statement. [135245]
§ The Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education (Alan Johnson)Employer engagement was set out as a core feature of foundation degrees in the July 2000 prospectus. Employers' involvement in design and development is illustrated in "Foundation Degrees: Meeting the need for higher-level skills", which was published on 7 October. The Higher Education Funding Council for England recently invited bids for 10,000 new foundation degree places for 2004–05, asking for bids to be developed with employers, sector skills councils and professional bodies. We hope that employers will take this opportunity to develop courses that address their skills needs.
§ Dr. IddonDo the Government consider that a foundation degree should be a bridge between poor educational qualifications and higher qualifications such as an honours or joint honours degree? If they view it in that way, will the curriculum be written so that progression can occur, and how many extra years would a foundation degree student be expected to study to achieve the further qualification? Have the Government considered the financial barriers that might prevent such students from making that progression?
§ Alan JohnsonI can confirm that that is precisely our objective. In accordance with the Dearing recommendations, which said that the sub-degree level was extremely important, foundation degrees should be a stepping stone for those who want to take it. However, it is important to recognise that foundation degrees are an important qualification and that we must break down the prejudice in this country in respect of academic and vocational qualifications. The simple answer is that if people add a year to their foundation degrees, they can go for an honours degree. A large proportion of the first cohort to come through with their foundation degrees, which have been in operation only for two years, are choosing to go on to take that third year. Overall, foundation degrees have been an enormous success, which is reflected in the 118 per cent. increase in applications this year.