Aproximación conceptual

The built environment subject area has a strong association with students studying on a part-time basis. Many built environment students engaging with higher education on a part-time basis do so as they are already employed within the industry and are required by their employer to gain an accredited degree so they can gain professional qualifications. The decline in the numbers of part-time students has been well documented in recent years generally, and within the built environment disciplines. According to HESA statistics published in January 2016, the number of students entering higher education to study on a part-time basis has fallen by 38% in five years (HESA, 2016) from 428,000 in 2010 to below 266,000 in 2015. The issue of part-time study is an important one from a government policy perspective given how part-time

study contributes to the economy (UUK, 2013), social mobility and the widening participation agenda and to providers of built environment higher education given the traditional participation from this sector. Part-time study is particularly important for the construction sector and for built environment education given the contribution of part- time students in addressing skills shortages within the sector.

The diverse range of students engaged with part-time study might result in a wide range of expectations and some particular needs not associated with those studying on a full- time basis. In built environment disciplines, students often have a wide range of experience; often have a very diverse range of working environments from infrastructure projects, through large-scale commercial work to residential. Within these areas they could be working on new build, conversion projects to refurbishment all requiring very different knowledge and skills. The expectations of the students and their employers, the difficulties in balancing work, study and individual personal circumstances, and responsibilities may result in a challenge for the student and the HEI in addressing those needs. Increasingly, those studying on a full-time basis experience similar challenges due to the financial pressures associated with higher education and as a result spending a significant proportion of their time in employment (Pollard et al., 2012). Barnett (2013) suggests that rather than simply categorizing study by either full-time or part-time, higher education providers need to consider the full range of learning needs and expectations.

The need for policy makers and institutions to better understand the expectations of part-time students, the motivations and barriers to participant will assist in prioritise the needs of this group of students. The need to also consider the pedagogical models used when engaging with part-time students (HEA, 2013) and the knowledge, skills and on-going training needs of those teaching in higher education. An important issue for institutions is how to meet the needs of a diverse range of students given that students participating in higher education across the range of delivery modes on offer are likely to be taught as one group. Within built environment education it is typical for full-time and part-time students to undertake the programme of study within the same group. This can be a very valuable experience if managed appropriately but can also present many difficulties due to the range of knowledge and experience of the student group.

Butcher (2015) identified a number of key issues related to the experiences of part-time students including flexibility and motivation. Flexibility is a concept that is often associated with part-time education in terms of an institutions approach to modes of learning, place and pace, scheduling of learning, timing of assessments and academic support mechanisms. However, Barnett (2014) asserts that in reality “the term itself is largely empty of content” as the efforts to address issues of flexibility invariably intersect with institutional structures and systems that are unresponsive and unable to deliver the flexibility required. Part-time students often report (Butcher, 2015) that institutions are inflexible and they feel like “an “inconvenience”, of being “shoe-horned” into existing full- time structures, of being “side-lined” and experiencing a lack of differentiation which felt like “one-size-fits-all”. Older students were irked that their prior skills went unrecognized”. Many part-time students report feeling like they do not have an identity and that they are isolated and disengaged from the structures provided within the institution to provide support. A key concern is that many of the structures in place to provide information, guidance, academic support are focused on full-time students and do not recognize the barriers facing part-time students. The motivation for engaging with higher education is also an important factor for part-time students. For many students, including built environment students, the main motivating factor is employability related in terms of acquiring the knowledge and skills to gain employment or to up-skill to improve career prospects. Employability is not the only motivating factor for all part-time students but for those undertaking vocationally based subject areas, it is often a central consideration. An additional consideration with both full and part-time students is the increase in mature students engaging with higher education as a result of the widening participation agenda. The needs and expectations of mature students also need to be taken into account. In the UK, there is a “knowledge gap around the experiences of, and barriers faced, by part-time mature students in higher education”

(Butcher, 2015) and to some extent this is also increasingly a factor in addressing the needs of full-time students.