‘I want universities and colleges to reaffirm their commitment to bringing more people from disadvantaged backgrounds into higher education,’ says the new Director of Fair Access who has been charged with the job of safeguarding fair access into higher education for students from under-represented groups.
Sir Martin Harris says that over time, as much as £200 million a year could be put back into the pockets of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. He says ‘The contribution will vary from institution to institution, but just to illustrate; if, on average, universities and colleges in England invested 20 per cent of their additional fee income into widening participation, then £200 million could be generated* (see notes)’.
Speaking today at the launch of the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) guidance to institutions, and for the first time as the new Director of Fair Access, Sir Martin says that the advent of OFFA should help ensure that once variable tuition fees have been established in 2006-07, no student should be deterred from accepting a place at any university or college in England on financial grounds.
He says: ‘The contribution individual institutions will invest in financial support for students [through their access agreements] will of course vary significantly. But, to illustrate, if, over time, 80 per cent of higher education institutions charged the full fee of £3,000, and if they invested on average 20 per cent of their additional income into bursaries, then we would be looking at up to as much as £200 million each year available to support students from under-represented groups, in particular those from low income groups. This will be money put directly into the pockets of students and will be a major step towards making higher education available to all those who have the potential to benefit from it.’
Institutions in England that decide to raise their tuition fees above the standard level in 2006-07 are now being invited to submit access agreements to OFFA for approval. Access agreements should set out how institutions will safeguard and promote fair access – in particular for students from low income groups – through bursary and other financial support and outreach work.
‘Universities and colleges have already done a great deal, but we must all continue to do everything we can to broaden the pool of applicants to higher education. I am fully committed to working with institutions to help them do this. OFFA’s role is about supporting all universities and colleges in their mission to encourage suitably qualified candidates to apply regardless of their background or financial circumstances,’ says Sir Martin.
Notes
1. ‘Producing Access Agreements, OFFA guidance to institutions’ (OFFA 2004/01) provides guidance to institutions wishing to produce an access agreement. Access agreements can be submitted from any time up to 18 March 2005.
2. *There is no maximum or minimum proportion of additional fee income that universities are expected to divert towards financial support. Some universities have already made public that they plan to spend up to 30 per cent of their additional income on bursaries. The contribution will vary from institution to institution, but as an illustration, if the average across the sector were 20 per cent, then an additional £200 million could be invested into widening participation.