Academic franchising: some pointers for improving practice

Academic franchising has provided opportunities for many thousands of students who would otherwise have been excluded from higher education. Yet, despite the continued presence of franchised courses, the approach has been, as far as possible, to make them fit in alongside traditional courses. Reports some of the work carried out by CERLIM at the University of Central Lancashire during the two-year Library Support for Franchised Courses in Higher Education project, which was part-funded by the British Library. Notes the differences in provision between college and university libraries and examines the student experience within this context. Identifies weakness in provision and describes the students’ coping strategies. Presents the practical implications of this work as suggestions to library managers for improving practice in the college and university libraries