Higher
Education
Strategy
2025-2029
Introduction
Gower College Swansea aims to establish itself as a leading provider of College based higher education to meet the future skills needs of both employers and learners. In determining our new higher education strategy, it is important to recognise that the current higher education landscape in Wales represents both significant challenges and opportunities.
In Wales, we have the joint challenges of
- Having a relatively lower percentage of adults with qualifications at Level 4 and above
- Having a relatively lower percentage of 18 year olds applying to university.
In addition, we also need to take into account the financial challenges that all universities are facing, which are inevitably going to result in reduced course(s) offer, reduced opportunities for students and possibly even reduced opportunities for partnership working.
So the question for us as a provider of higher education courses is what can and should we do to help and essentially this is the reason why we have chosen to update the College’s higher education strategy at this time.
There are plenty of considerations which we will need to address in the strategy – matters such as the student HE experience at the College, staff expertise, knowledge and qualifications, quality assessment, marketing etc. But for us, there are two key business issues that are important to address in this strategy.
The first of these is the challenge of curriculum development - which courses we should be developing and delivering, with which employers and priority sectors, at what levels and how are these best delivered. Our discussions to date with employers and indeed many potential students focus less on full-time Level 6 (undergraduate) courses and far more on Level 4 and Level 5 provision delivered through discrete modules (the micro-credentials model) on a part-time basis with parts of each course delivered online. All of this needs to be taken into consideration in assessing what our offer should look like.
The second issue is around accreditation and how do we get greater flexibility in the developmental and accreditation of HE courses that meet the needs of employers and students, whilst recognising that most accreditation is currently under the control of universities, who may of course have even less flexibility going forward. We need to have a mechanism where course development can be fast tracked to meet the needs and the expectations of our employers and of course that may change – and potentially increase – the range of partnerships that we are proud to have across a number of our local universities.
So please read our strategy and if you have any questions or comments or feel that you are in a position where you can help us to achieve our aims, then please get in touch.
Kelly Fountain
Chief Executive Officer
Strategic context
This strategy has been written at a time when the current landscape for Higher Education (HE) and the College presents considerable challenges and change. This includes difficult recruitment conditions with regard to enrolment numbers, the complexities of a large number of existing HEI partners and the establishment of the new body overseeing all post compulsory education in Wales, Medr, in August 2024. It also takes place against the backdrop of unprecedented financial challenges for the university sector and the current low skill levels in the region. 22% of the population within the Swansea area is educated to Level 3 but not Level 4 or above and Wales in general continues to have lower numbers educated to HE level than the other regions of the UK.
These challenges also present opportunities for growth, expansion and increased student numbers, with Gower College Swansea at the forefront of responding to these challenges through the development of higher level skills. The Welsh Government’s HE strategy emphasises social mobility and inclusion, focusing on disadvantaged learners who are central to the College’s mission.
There is a growing desire for better progression routes in HE, particularly in vocational learning and flexible delivery patterns, which clearly align with Gower College Swansea’s ambitions, vision and strategy.
This context sets the stage for Gower College Swansea to respond to these challenges and utilise opportunities to enhance and expand its HE provision, ensuring growth and widening participation for our students.
As part of the College’s Strategic Plan and our vision of Inspiring Ambitious Futures and mission of Transforming Lives through Education, Skills and Training this HE strategy aims to position Gower College Swansea as a leader in College based higher education, providing students with the skills, knowledge and opportunities to succeed in their chosen careers.
Our vison
To be a leading provider of College based higher education delivering high quality industry focused provision, equipping learners with higher levels skills for successful progression and employment.
Strategic aims
Curriculum development and progression opportunities
Build clear, positive and aspirational progression pathways across all vocational curriculum areas, from entry to Higher Education (HE) ensuring seamless progression and enhancing the experience for our learners.
Establish strong employer partnerships
Drive the co-creation of HE programmes that are highly industry relevant and enhance employability.
Achieve greater autonomy of HE provision
Actively cultivate key partnerships to pursue greater responsiveness in curriculum design and delivery and greater flexibility in course development and accreditation.
High quality and flexible HE delivery models
Utilise the College’s strong expertise in high quality teaching and learning to develop flexible and digital focused approaches which increase accessibility, widen access and cater to diverse learner needs.
Development of the HE offer in line with regional demands
Proactively develop and implement new courses that meet the evolving needs of the local economy and industry sectors.
Embed a strong HE culture within the College
To consistently advocate for the transformative potential of HE ensuring staff, students and key stakeholders recognise and embrace the benefits of College based HE.
Strategic directions
Learner experience and support
Vocational and professional focus
Emphasise vocational and professional qualifications that align with industry needs to ensure graduates are work ready.
Exceptional support
Provide exceptional support services that recognise the individual needs of HE students and maximise their potential.
Partnerships
Stakeholders as partners in design
Strengthen links with local and regional employers to ensure they and other stakeholders are true partners in the design and creation of new, highly relevant provision.
Employers as partners
Work with employers as active partners to provide real world experience through e.g. apprenticeships and placements.
Progression
HE profile
Through a new HE marketing strategy, advance and champion the unique benefits of Gower College Swansea as a fully aligned vocational higher education provider which seamlessly brings together professional higher level, full-time and part-time vocational, technical and apprenticeship routes as a coherent provision.
Support for progression
Actively engage with prospective students through schools, colleges, employers and the community to highlight progression opportunities and career pathways highlighting the benefits of College based HE including employability, personalised support, and strong industry links.
Autonomy
Streamlined partnerships
Focus on highly effective strategic partnerships and maintain key collaborations with universities and awarding bodies for higher level vocational, technical and professional qualifications.
Provider of higher vocational and technical education
Recognised as a HE provider which responds to and supports the needs of employers in the development of new highly relevant vocational and technical qualifications, which supports the economy of the region.
High quality and flexible delivery
High quality teaching and learning
Small class sizes which utilise active learning and personalised support to enhance the learning experience.
Lifelong learning opportunities
Offer flexible learning options that accommodate the varied backgrounds, lifestyles and personal commitments of learners.
HE culture
HE community and belonging
Develop an effective and identifiable HE community within the College, ensuring students feel part of an aspirational, supportive and inclusive environment.
Resources and facilities
Commit to ensuring that specific facilities for HE students and resources and staff development opportunities e.g. HEA Fellowship, QAA and higher degrees support the growth and quality of HE provision and high quality teaching and learning.
Where will we be in five years’ time?
We believe we can do more and go further, building upon our excellent reputation to expand and grow our higher education provision. Through new and existing markets we can create positive impact for our learners, employers and communities. We can be a key contributor to addressing and closing the higher level skills gap in Swansea, regionally, across Wales and beyond. Working with key partners, including Welsh Government and Medr, the College will look to achieve the following objectives.
In five years’ time we will have:
Established comprehensive progression pathways
across all of the College’s vocational curriculum learning areas at Levels 4 and 5 including full-time, part-time, professional, accredited and industry standard qualifications, where relevant and linked to employer need and LMI.
Strengthened our academic HE infrastructure that supports high quality HE delivery through a dynamic, highly qualified and responsive HE team that provides an outstanding experience for our learners and is recognised through external bodies e.g. Advance HE, HE Quality Networks.
Developed flexible delivery models across our HE provision with no course requiring a commitment of more than two days synchronous delivery for learners.
A distinctive HE culture embedded across the College with staff and learners that consistently champion the transformative power of the College as a recognised HE provider with every curriculum and delivery area implementing specific progression and regularly celebrating achievement through established events.
Developed industry-aligned programmes co-created with employers with active employer advisory boards for each vocational area.
Implemented a dynamic and targeted HE marketing strategy that successfully increases student recruitment positioning Gower College Swansea as the College of choice for accessible, vocational, industry-focused higher education with consistently viable provision in all vocational delivery areas.
Improved internal progression rates onto College HE courses with this route having the highest number of students progressing in all identified non-academic subject areas and all learning areas having at least one viable full-time HE cohort annually.
Created high-impact partnerships which are streamlined, effective and provide real world learning opportunities and employability for our learners with all learners experiencing placement, live brief or work based elements as part of their learning.
Achieved Regulator Provider status and be progressing towards foundation degree awarding powers demonstrating our academic credibility and autonomy in our higher education provision and recognised by Medr and external quality bodies e.g. QAA.