The Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL)

The Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) is the professional association for the lifelong learning community within higher education. UALL plays a leading role in national and international policy formulation, advocacy, research and practice in lifelong learning and continuing education. Continuing Education Links.
UALL exists to promote the development of a higher education system which is flexible and responsive to the needs of lifelong learning, for academic, economic and personal development, across the whole life span.
The Association does this by: · Supporting its members in their work, · Representing their interests and those of their students at national level (to agencies including Government, Funding Councils, UUK, QAA, LSC, and RDAs.)
UALL members work in many different institutional roles and settings, but all aim to:
1. respond to the needs of individuals to participate in learning throughout their lives. This includes: · developing policies and practice on entitlement and access; · developing innovative and participative pedagogy; · developing flexible modes of delivery; · developing a curriculum which responds to the needs of individuals, whether related to work, personal development or civic engagement.
2. develop, share and disseminate knowledge with employers, and with local and regional communities. This includes: · providing formal and informal learning opportunities in the workplace and the community, as well as on campus, to develop the skills and knowledge base of the economy and society more broadly; · contributing to knowledge transfer by the dissemination of HE based skills and knowledge; · providing advice, guidance and brokering services to individuals, employers and organisations; · securing access to facilities and resources and organising events.
3. contribute to the development of civil society. This includes: · supporting the learning of critical thinking; · stimulating public debate by a range of means, including events and publications as well as formal programmes on social, economic and political issues; · encouraging democratic participation and public service.
4. help overcome social exclusion. This includes contributing to: · making educational provision for excluded individuals, groups and communities, · developing the theory and practice of neighbourhood renewal and regeneration, · providing support to individuals and organisations in doing this.
5. carry out and disseminate research and scholarship related to lifelong learning. This includes: · formal academic research, normally funded by Funding Councils or research agencies, · action research, often funded by employers or their representatives, · collaborative research with a wide range of partners
UALL is committed to all of these, and by its nature will be particularly concerned about the needs of those who need to combine higher level learning with work and domestic responsibilities, through part-time, flexible and off-campus study. However work to address the priorities will be located differently in different institutions, and individual UALL members will be engaged in them to different degrees. Since lifelong learning takes place in many contexts, forms and locations it is fundamental that much of the work of UALL is carried out in partnership with agencies and individuals in other sectors and organisations.