A survey of the foundation
sector in terms of content
and skills
Mike Groves
The University of Birmingham
Outline
What is a foundation?
What’s online?
What do we need to ask next?
Some personal experience
2001-2 Reading College- An access to HE course in an EFL department
2007- Nottingham. CLIL, EAP, IT and quants
2009- Nottingham Malaysia. Disaparte courses . Some had 10/180 credits of
English. Majority modules on a lecture/seminar model
2016- Birmingham. Heavy EAP, but flexible. Content modules held in colleges
(faculties). Academic director non-EAP
So- differences in
- Ownership and position
- Staffing
- Balance of content and English
- Diversity of students
- Purpose?
Observations
It’’s a very diverse sector
It’s a very lucrative sector
It’s a very competitive sector
It’s an under theorised sector
Definitions of a foundation programme
Owned and delivered by the university taking students
Undergraduate preparation
Involves some content at least- plays a bridging role in qualifications
Aimed at International student market
Method
Web survey of all UK universities trying to see the balance of skills vs content
Entry requirement also surveyed
Any privatised, foundations disregarded
Due to the bewildering array of course- this I focussed on 2 semester course
leading to a business degree
Note- Structure/ownership not always apparent. very mixed offering in terms of
amount and quality of information available.
Headline figures
In house foundation
64
Private Foundation
29
No Foundation
26
Total
119
Courses with apparent structures etc- 48
English language Entry requirement (some not
easily apparent)
IELTS
4.5
17
5
10
5.5
17
6
4
Grand Total
48
Statistically speaking
Correlations
There was a significant correlation between the IELTS entry grade and the
position in the Guardian League table (r=-0.626, p<0.001, n=48)
Types of modules
EAP- specifically about English language improvement
Skills- about essay writing, presentation skills
Project- Independent study
Quantitative- Mathematical Skills
Culture- Cultural awareness, normally British culture
Content- Undergraduate type units
Breakdown of modules by type and university
ranking
Ranking
01 to 19
EAP
Skills
Quants
Project
Culture
Cont
IT
0.22
0.08
0.09
0
0.03
0.57
0
20-39
0.3
0.03
0.14
0
0.03
0.5
0
40-59
0.29
0.1
0.07
0.04
0.02
0.47
0.01
60-79
0.53
0.07
0.05
0
0.03
0.27
0.05
80-99
0.34
0.15
0.1
0
0.07
0.29
0.06
100-119
0.45
0.06
0.08
0.04
0.05
0.31
0
Statistically speaking
There is a strong negative correlation between the university ranking and the
amount of content (r=-0.518, p<0.01, n=48) and a strong positive correlation
between the amount of EAP and the university ranking (r=0.333, p>0.05, n=48).
The amount of quantitative methods is negatively correlated with the amount of
EAP (r=-0.400, p=0.05, n=48)
What does this mean?
Some clear trends
Content weighting at better unis
Questions
Is this a pragmatic move in order to deal most effectively with the profiles of
students who step through the door, or a reflection more ideological move into
market led competitiveness?
Is there a move from foundations into their own departments?
How much language improvement can genuinely be expected?
Where does foundation sit in the minds of policymakers?
Is the language of the publicity the language of recruitment, progression or
education?