For immediate release
Commenting on the final draft of new guidance from ministers at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Director of Fair Access Sir Martin Harris said: “This new letter of guidance to me sends a clear message about the importance the Government places on fair access to higher education and I heartily welcome this. Access to higher education is a key aspect of social mobility and in a just and equitable society it is only right that there should be equal opportunity for all those with the potential to benefit from going to university, regardless of their background, schooling or income.
“The letter introduces some significant changes to the access agreements that all English universities and colleges must submit to OFFA if they wish to charge more than the new basic fee of £6,000 in 2012-13. In future, access agreements will have to be submitted to OFFA for approval on an annual basis and, subject to Parliamentary approval, they will also cover part-time students as well as full-time students. Other key changes include the withdrawal of the minimum bursary, with lower income students being compensated by a promised increase in the maintenance grant. I particularly welcome the emphasis on collaborative working between universities and the explicit endorsement of the use of contextual data as a way of ensuring that bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds have the same opportunities as their more advantaged peers.
“OFFA will now draw up guidance for English universities and colleges setting out what their access agreements will need to cover if they wish to charge more than £6,000 in 2012-13. In the light of OFFA research published last year, we believe that well-targeted, long-term outreach which boosts attainment and aspirations among disadvantaged young people is a more effective way of widening access than precise amounts of bursary support. We will therefore be asking for an increased emphasis on effective outreach with a smaller proportion of access agreement expenditure committed to bursaries and other financial support, particularly where such financial support is loosely targeted. Our aim is to publish this guidance towards the end of February, with universities submitting their access agreements to us by early to mid April. We will then assess their access agreements and give universities our decision by mid July, so ensuring that 2012-13 applicants know the cost of individual courses including any institutional financial support available before they start to apply this autumn.
“In the meantime, within the limited time available to us, we will be consulting with sector bodies on the detail of our access agreement guidance. We will also be advising the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on its guidance to institutions about the National Scholarship Programme, broad details of which were released today by the Government.
“With very significant reductions in the funding they receive from the Higher Education Council for England (HEFCE) for teaching and considerable uncertainty about their income from increased fees, universities clearly face some difficult decisions. However, we will be asking them to continue to see their fair access work as a priority, with an even stronger focus on outcomes. Fair access is not just an ambition for times of plenty, it is an ambition for all times.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The letter of guidance can be found on the BIS website at www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/higher-education/docs/g/11-728-guidance-to-director-fair-access
- The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) is an independent, non-departmental public body established under the Higher Education Act 2004 to help promote and safeguard fair access to higher education. The main way we do this is by regulating the charging of higher tuition fees by English universities and colleges offering full-time (and from 2012-13, part-time, subject to Parliamentary approval) undergraduate higher education courses. As a condition of charging higher fees, institutions must have an ‘access agreement’ approved by OFFA setting out the access measures they will put in place to safeguard and improve fair access to higher education. It is therefore reasonable to describe us as the ‘fair access regulator’.
- For more about OFFA, please see our website www.offa.org.uk, particularly the Quick Facts and FAQ in the Press section.
- For further information, contact Zita Adamson, Communications Manager at OFFA, on 0117 931 7272 or 0117 931 7171.