A higher education ethos: A review of information and literature relating to the creation of an ethos of HE in the context of FE

Drawing on a review of material this document examines the notion of a higher education ethos (or higher education culture) in the context of further education. By looking at the ways in which it has emerged in policy documents and the wider spheres of higher and further education the notion is contextualised and some of its key aspects are identified. Creating and sustaining an HE ethos is a potentially resource-intensive undertaking and this paper argues that student engagement constitutes a potentially crucial aspect of such an ethos but that certain factors peculiar to the HE in FE context may constrain levels of engagement.