Disruption and distinctiveness in Higher EducationProfessor Wendy PurcellVice-Chancellor, Plymouth University23rd October 2013

Some features of the last decade …• Growth and massification

• Demand outstrips heavily regulated supply

• Persistence 3 year residential degree model

• Prestige of traditional models

• Private providers and FE marginal/subordinate to universities

Over the next three years…

• New HE funding model in full effect by 2015• HE will be a more marketised environment• Partnership models: private, business, other• Emphasis on quality and value - ROI• Reputation is what we leverage against

OLD WORLD Public funding for public goodNEW WORLD Income earned through value

delivered

Vision for the HE sector in 30 years?• More accessible/more elite

• More/less community engagement

• More global/more local

• High/low quality sector

• More/fewer students

• More/less funding

• More/fewer HEIs

• More/less regulation

etc…

Research outcomes from work undertaken by the Long-term Strategy Group of Universities UK; Spring 2011

Looking at other sectors …

‘BOLD – How to be brave in business and win ‘ SMITH & MILLIGAN

Lessons from other sectors?• Lots of small niche suppliers & some big value entrantsNew entrants?

• In what is offered services, pricing, support, etcInnovation?

• Biggest and most financial sound of the ‘incumbents’Continued market domination for a time ?

• Amongst both original players and new entrantsFailures, mergers and take-overs?

• To protect consumer interests; competition lawNew regulation ?

• An influx of foreign investment at some pointNew sources of funding?

O2

“In a market becoming more and more commoditised, we could differentiate by looking at the experience we delivered.”

“We'll try and set the rules by which we think the game should be played and then others can choose to compete as they wish.”

Burberry

“Our heritage is our foundation, but we continue to grow and develop.”

“There's only one brand - so tighten control over anything the consumer sees.”

“The perfect storm - continue to invest in those things which are customer facing in order to continue to fuel growth.”

Disruption can drive innovation …

“If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses’.”

Henry Ford, early 1900s

Entrepreneurial leaders view disruption as a source of opportunity

Slide Title

Disruption of Higher Education

New entrants, new models

Unbundling of delivery

Networks of providers

Differentiation

Pricing

etc…

Challenges =

Opportunities

Increasingly global environment for higher education

Marketised - focus on choice, price and value= the product

Distinctiveness, reputation, return on investment = student experience

Policy changes, affordability, sustainability = transformation

Impact on UK HE

Disruption

ExpectationsEconomic

TechnologicalSocietal

Governmental

… Income earned through value delivered

Challenges and Priorities

• Student choice, experience and ROI• Quality and innovation• Financial sustainability• Resilience and strategic agility• Communicating distinctiveness and the offer• Internationalisation and globalisation• Leadership capacity and models

and many (many) more!

… invest in growth and building reputation

Self-interest to Service

Ivory Tower to Connected

Exclusive to Inclusive

Knowledge Creation and Knowledge

Exchange

Tax to Investment

Local to Global

Institutional to

Civic Leadership

Higher Education as a public good

Beyond budgeting

• How the sector is changed/has changed

WHAT WE DO HERE MATTERS ...

• Differentiation and distinctiveness strategies• Red and blue oceans – crowded market to new market spaces• Race to the middle• Importance of heritage and establishing a ‘sense of place’ • Not aligned with UK Mission Groups

Leading, governing and managing enterprising HEIs

HEFCE Project

Axes of distinctivenessFocus:

o Enterprise approacho Professions/employer engagedo Research priorityo Specialisto Distance learning

Academic offer & pricing

Situational leadership & style

The leadership challenge

HEFCE Leadership, Governance and Management Project

Distinctiveness strategies UK

Slide Title

Students as partners

World class research• Seeking solutions to the ‘grand challenges’ of our day

• World-leading research – key areas, focus, critical mass, environment

• Pedagogy in HE & research-informed teaching

• Public engagement – community research awards

• Student engagement

International

Transforming lives …

Community

WHAT WE DO HERE MATTERS ...

MISSIONvalues-centred

organisation

Motivated employees

Innovation drivessuperior customer

service

Customersatisfaction

Revenue growth & profits

STRATEGY

Reputationalgrowth

Race for excellence is a marathon and not a sprint!• Top 10 ranked universities founded before 1900 & two >8

centuries old!

• Accelerating factors for ‘late-comers’• Use of English• Distinctiveness & critical mass• Relative benchmarking to competitors• Pedagogic innovation• Leadership & investment• Stay the course and keep the long view

Top 100 under 50 years ranking and top 300 world ranking

“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood,

and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long forthe endless immensity of the sea.”

Antoine de Saint Exupery, 1900-1944 Writer

Disruption and distinctiveness in Higher EducationProfessor Wendy PurcellVice-Chancellor, Plymouth University23rd October 2013