The changing face of education in Wales

Wales higher education has been a whirlwind of change in the past few months and as confusing and at times conflicting messages have appeared in the media Wales International Consortium attempts to address the key questions to explain the changes taking place in Wales.

What is the history of higher education in Wales?
Wales enjoys a long history of both education and change that dates back as far as 1822 when the St David’s College (which became the University of Wales Lampeter) was awarded its Royal Charter making it the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales and the third oldest in England and Wales after Oxford and Cambridge. 

In 1893 the University of Wales was founded as a federal university with founding colleges in Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff. 

In 1920 a fourth college was formed in Swansea then in 1931 the Welsh College of Medicine was formed in Cardiff. In 1971 St David’s College entered the University of Wales.

In 1992 University of Glamorgan was formed to become the second university in Wales.  In 1996 the University of Wales reorganised into a two-tier structure in order to absorb the Cardiff Institute of Higher Education (now Cardiff Metropolitan University) and Gwent College of Higher Education (now University of Wales Newport).

In 2004 four more institutions became part of the University of Wales- North East Wales Institute of Higher Education (now Glyndwr University), Swansea Institute of Higher Education (now Swansea Metropolitan University), Trinity College Carmarthen (now University of Wales Trinity Saint David) and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

In 2004 University of Wales College Newport changed its name to University of Wales Newport and Cardiff University and the University of Wales College of Medicine merged.

In 2005 Cardiff University established independence and began awarding its own degrees.

In 2007 the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama left the University of Wales and the University of Wales ceased to be a federal university: University of Wales Aberystwyth, University of Wales Bangor and University of Wales Swansea all became independent universities moving toward awarding their own degrees and adopting their current names as Aberystwyth University, Bangor University and Swansea University.

In 2010 University of Wales Trinity Saint David was created from the merging of University of Wales Lampeter and Trinity University College. This was then followed by the announcement that Swansea Metropolitan University would also combine with the newly merged structure to form a new university of South West Wales.

In October 2011 the University of Wales reaffirmed its merger with University of Wales Trinity Saint David and Swansea Metropolitan University, agreeing that the unified institution will be merged under the historic 1822 Royal Charter of Trinity Saint David, rather than under the 1893 University of Wales Charter.

So, there has evidently always been a process of change under way in higher education in Wales.

Why are the more recent changes taking place?

The Welsh Governments reconfiguration and collaboration agenda has been a key component of its policy for higher education over the last ten years.  The 2009 Jones Review of Higher Education in Wales and the recent review on governance led by John McCormick pointed to the potential benefits of further reconfiguration.

In June 2011 the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales advised on the future structure of Higher Education in Wales. This report suggested potential ways forward in reconfiguration and collaboration and as a result a multitude of future pathways have been explored including; a super-university amongst the University of Wales alliance institutions, various mergers with University of Wales, various mergers amongst South Wales universities and a merger of Aberystwyth University and Bangor University.
At this point institutions have published exploratory agendas regarding working closer together with other universities, but it is too early for most final confirmations.

It is important to remember that as the jigsaw of higher education is pieced together, the impact on international students studying in Wales is minimal. In fact it is almost unperceivable.  More courses than ever are available; there are as many places available for international students as before and the numbers of international students choosing to study in Wales continues to rise. Currently there are 13,118 international students at the 10 universities in Wales, an increase of 15% on 2009/10 and the initial reports for the current intake of 2011/12 is that the figure has increased again.

The reconfiguration agenda is intended as a positive agenda to make higher education in Wales even more successful by building research capacity, improving subject strengths and interfacing more effectively with business and industry.

Are the universities in Wales really collaborating?

Collaboration is at the heart of higher education in Wales, with industry, with institutions throughout the world and with one another.

Wales International Consortium is a consortium of all universities in Wales. Collaboration between the members is stronger than ever with a determination to place internationalisation at the heart of the Wales higher education agenda. The Consortium has existed since 2003 and is a unique example of all higher education in a country working together. All the universities in Wales own and direct the Consortium and regularly participate in its joint overseas missions and events, working together to promote higher education in Wales.


What about the future?

Higher education in Wales has always been an evolving process and the latest changes are simply the next phase of that evolution. But it should not be forgotten that at the heart of these changes lies a desire to be better, bolder, stronger and to forge a higher education system in Wales that can not only survive the global challenges to higher education but can compete on a world stage in research, industry collaborations and partnerships.

At the heart of that education system is one that places the needs of the student as a priority. Wales has proved time and again that its student satisfaction is amongst the best in the UK. It is certain that as the future unfolds and further name changes flow by, the international student experience in Wales will continue to be the best. 

Wales higher education has a history that dates back as far as 1822 and as it moves through this current transformative time it can savour its history whilst moving to a stronger, more vibrant and competitive future.

Further information of higher education in Wales is available here

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