Student Success: what is it?
         •  Ask your students!
         • Gaining of education and training
         • Of credit and qualification
         • In order to gain
         • Enhancement of livelihood and earnings
         • Personal development and self-esteem
                                                     Alan Tait ICDE-UNESCO Policy Forum Bali                                           2
                                                                      2014
          Context: from élite to mass Higher Education 
                                                             systems
         • Growth of higher education over last 40 years in 
              developed and developing countries
         • In UK from 6% to 42% participation of school leavers
         • Need to increase provision globally from 300m to 410m 
              by 2030
         • Wider opportunity increases risk of student drop-out
         • In UK drop-out in full time sector ranges from 3%-40% 
              drop out
         • Part-time and DE drop out is higher
         • In USA 55% overall average graduation rate
                                                     Alan Tait ICDE-UNESCO Policy Forum Bali                                           3
                                                                      2014
                         Drop out: combination of mission 
                                                              and risk
         • University of Cambridge 3% drop out
         • University of Bolton 40% drop out
         • Open University: in first year 45% drop out and 
              subsequently 35-40% drop out
         • Computing part-time graduation rates?
         • Implications of open entry
         • Full time/part time divide
         • Distance and E learning subset of part-time
         • Drop out function of mission, risk and DE system, not 
              mode
                                                     Alan Tait ICDE-UNESCO Policy Forum Bali                                           4
                                                                      2014
         Challenges to mass Higher Education systems
         • Risk with students with less cultural and social capital
         • Who pays?  Student? Family? Government?
         • Pay with self esteem as well as money
         • Risk to student; institution; government
         • Abuse by private for profit institutions 
         • Challenges to massification of Higher Education systems
         • Where does cost outweigh return for individuals and 
              government?
         • Have we sufficiently rethought HE for mass system?
                                                     Alan Tait ICDE-UNESCO Policy Forum Bali                                           5
                                                                      2014
                How well are we doing?
     • In systems terms two points of leverage:
     • Who do we seek to admit to study?
     • What do we do in our teaching, support and logistics 
       strategies?
     • Minority of students in most DE programmes achieve formal 
       study goal
     • Causes of non-success combination of risk in educational 
       ambition with busy adult students
     • And 
     • Effectiveness of our DE systems
     • But not mode of DE study in itself
                            Alan Tait ICDE-UNESCO Policy Forum Bali     6
                                      2014