To help increase mature student recruitment on to degree apprenticeships, do we need new success measures?

Abstract

The introduction of degree apprenticeships in England in 2015 has not resulted in a significant increase in mature students accessing higher education provision overall. While there are likely to be a complex number of reasons contributing to this, the extent to which employers understand and value degree apprenticeship provision may be an influencing factor, the terminology may be another. As employers are pivotal in the decision-making process for degree apprenticeship recruitment, their comprehension of the impact that degree apprenticeship graduates have upon business outcomes is essential in developing this aspect of higher education. Success measures within education have usually focused on quantifiable outcomes, such as retention and achievement. Within higher education, undergraduate success is often measured by retention on programme and degree classification. These measures have merit in traditional undergraduate provision, however, the introduction of degree apprenticeships and the influence that employers have on these programmes suggests that new success metrics may be required. This would help to make the measurement of the success of this provision more meaningful to the key stakeholders, and to support employer engagement in recruiting employees on to degree apprenticeships. Having delivered degree apprenticeships since 2016, University Centre Quayside (UCQ) has undertaken a single-institution case study investigation with initial findings suggesting that the use of work-related measures, based on the impact that vocational learning has within the workplace, is a more effective and accurate reflection of graduate effectiveness and could generate more meaning for employers. The other finding suggests that, rather than the degree apprenticeship raising the perception of all apprenticeships, the term 'apprenticeship' may be preventing more degree apprenticeship recruitment.