Higher Education | Eurydice

As laid out in the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Acts 1992 and 2005, higher education institutions (HEIs) provide the following types of courses at a higher level in preparation for a qualification from a professional body:

Sub-degree courses
First degree courses
Courses for the education and training of teachers
Courses of post-graduate studies at Masters and Doctorate levels
Courses HEIs are also expected to carry out research

Policy Objectives

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning provides the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) with letters of guidance, setting out the Scottish Government’s priorities for investment in colleges and HEIs. The SFC is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government.

The SFC establishes an outcome agreement with each of the 19 HEIs. These agreements set out what HEIs plan to deliver in return for their funding from the SFC. They also allow the SFC and the sector to quantify improvements across the areas identified in the Cabinet Secretary’s letter of guidance, as well as other specific outcomes set out in offers and conditions of grant.

Scottish Government priorities for the academic year 2017-18 were expressed in the letter of guidance issued on 30th March 2017 by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning. The Scottish Government indicated that it expects the SFC to ensure that improved outcomes are delivered by HEIs across the following areas:

Sustainable economic growth through education of the workforce in targeted areas
Prioritisation of provision in education to address industry skills gaps - including in STEM (science, technology, and mathematics) subjects, and digital skills
Widening access to all areas of education, implementing the recommendations of the Commission on Widening Access, and improving participation in STEM areas amongst female students
To ensure the highest standards of governance and financial accountability amongst HEIs
Bolster connectedness of HEIs to wider society and institutions
Internationally competitive and impactful research

In 2011 the Scottish Government published Putting Learners at the Centre: Delivering our Ambitions for Post-16 Education. It sets out proposals for wide-ranging reform of the full range of Government-funded post-16 education in Scotland - higher education, further education and skills.

The strategy stated that the Scottish Government is strongly committed to widening participation in both further and higher education. It recognised the work done by SFC through Learning for All, the SFC’s strategy for widening participation. Published in 2005, Learning for All proposed measures to monitor progress in widening access. Annual update reports on these measures of success have been published by SFC, these include reporting against measures requested by the Scottish Government.

The Organisation of Higher Education in the UK

Higher education in all four parts of the United Kingdom shares a number of characteristics and structural features. In the United Kingdom, HEIs are autonomous self-governing bodies which offer degrees by virtue of their own degree awarding powers or the degree awarding powers of another institution. These degree awarding powers are recognised by the UK authorities (UK and Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies).

Institutions are responsible for appointing and employing their own staff (see Topic 9 Teachers and Education Staff). Grants for specific research projects and programmes are administered on a UK-wide basis through the seven UK research councils.

Within the context of institutional autonomy, some common approaches and frameworks are used. There is no system for the accreditation of institutions but the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) makes judgments on UK institutions’ capability to manage their own quality and standards. QAA publishes the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, which provides the definitive reference point for providers. However, QAA (Scotland) has delegated responsibilities from the QAA Board for managing QAA work in Scotland and has developed a distinctive approach (see Chapter 11.2 Quality Assurance in Higher Education).

Opportunities for international engagement also encourage a coordinated response. Reflecting these commonalities and shared missions, a number of sector-led bodies operate on behalf of HEIs across the UK. These bodies include:

Universities UK (UUK) (whose members are the executive heads of UK institutions)
UCAS (which provides application services)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
The Higher Education Academy (HEA)
The Committee of University Chairs (CUC)

Scotland has distinct traditions of higher education. For example:

Many students move into higher education at the age of 17 (rather than 18 in other parts of the United Kingdom)
The Scottish higher education system favours a four-year undergraduate degree programme, which offers students enhanced flexibility and academic breadth
The ancient universities of Scotland issue a Master of Arts as the first degree in humanities

Moreover, since the late 1990s the devolved administrations of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have had responsibility for education, and policies in some areas have diverged. The most notable recent divergence is around tuition fees and student support, the funding of institutions and the related governance arrangements. For example, in Scotland, there are no direct course fees for first time undergraduate students from a country within the European Union.

First degree students from Scotland or the rest of the EU studying in Scotland are entitled to have their tuition fees paid by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). Assessment of research continues to be undertaken on a UK-wide basis although there are differences in the way the four UK funding councils use the results to allocate funding for research infrastructure (see Chapter 3.2 Higher Education Funding).

Legislation

The relevant legislation relates to both higher and further education. The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 made fundamental changes in the organisation of post-school education in Scotland.

Colleges (previously Further Education Colleges), which had previously been the responsibility of the education authorities, became "incorporated" (i.e. self-governing) under the general supervision of the then Scottish Office Education Department (and later that of the Scottish Government Lifelong Learning Directorate). These colleges contribute to higher education as well as to non-advanced further education.

The 1992 Act also created a separate Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC). This action removed the dividing line which existed between the former Central Institutions and the HEIs in respect of their funding mechanisms and created a distinctly Scottish body able to take major decisions affecting the future of higher education in Scotland.

From 1 July 1999, under powers provided in the 1992 Act, a Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) came into operation. This replaced the former further education Funding Unit of the then Scottish Office Education and Industry Department (later the Scottish Government Lifelong Learning Directorate).

The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 dissolved SFEFC and SHEFC and created a new Scottish Funding Council (SFC). The 2005 Act repealed the sections of the 1992 Act, which referred to the old Councils.

Merging the two Funding Councils allowed a more strategic overview of both the further education and higher education sectors, increasing transparency and allowing more coherent decision-making. SFC is responsible for funding Scotland’s colleges and HEIs. The Act also extends the powers of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman to the actions of further education and HEIs.

The Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016 changed the nature of HEI governance, aimed at the promotion of greater accountability in the sector, and to strengthen academic freedoms for staff. The Act specifies that greater proportons of governing boards must be elected, as well as include more current students.

Structure of the Academic Year

The structure of the academic year is not regulated by law. Under The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, HEIs are autonomous and can decide for themselves the start and finish of the academic year.

Some follow the traditional academic calendar and generally start in September or October and finish in May or June. Holidays during the year are typically at Christmas and Easter (for approximately a month each) and examinations would be at the end of the final term. Institutions are also autonomous regarding the time devoted to teaching activities, holidays and examination periods.

Other HEIs have moved to a semester system which splits the year into separate teaching blocks with shorter holidays and examination periods twice yearly. Under this system students can start the year at different times e.g. in September or in January. Certain dates, such as 25-26 December and 1-2 January will be regarded as public holidays by all institutions.

Other post-school institutions offering further and higher education have an academic year closer in length and division to the school year.

For postgraduate (second and third cycle) students, the organisation of time varies. Where a taught master's programme has a duration of one year, this normally means a full calendar year.

Teaching normally takes place between 9.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m., from Monday to Friday, but may take place at other times. Part-time courses may be offered during the day or in the evening.