1. Mandelson launches top-up fees review
Lord Mandelson has appointed Lord Browne of Madingley to chair the independent review of higher education funding and student finance on Monday 9 November. In addition to Lord Browne, the review will have six other members: Michael Barber, Diane Coyle, David Eastwood, Julia King, Rajay Naik and Peter Sands. The review fulfils the commitment made by the Government during the Commons stages of the Higher Education Act 2004 to review the operation of variable tuition fees after these had been in force for three years.
The Review will analyse the challenges and opportunities facing higher education and their implications for student financing and support. It will examine the balance of contributions to higher education funding by taxpayers, students, graduates and employers.
Its primary task is to make recommendations to Government on the future of fees policy and financial support for full and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students.
In assessing options the Review will be expected to take into account: the goal of widening participation, affordability, the desirability of simplification of the system of support.
The Review will work with the Office for Fair Access and HEFCE and collaborate with Professor Adrian Smith’s review of postgraduate study. Its work will also take into account the conclusions of Professor Sir Martin Harris’s review on promoting access to higher education.
The Review is expected to report by the Autumn of 2010.
NUS President Wes Streeting said:
“There is a real danger that this review will pave the way for higher fees and a market in prices that would see poorer students priced out of more prestigious universities and other students and universities consigned to the 'bargain basement'. This would be a disaster for UK higher education and must not be allowed to happen.
“Members of the review should be in no doubt about the scale of public opposition to a hike in fees and the level of student anger about the extent of our indebtedness and the marketisation of our education. Review members have a golden opportunity to propose a fairer alternative for funding Britain's universities, like the progressive graduate contribution advocated by NUS.
“Politicians should remember the student backlash in 2004 that almost brought Blair's government down and saw many pro-fees MP's lose their seats subsequently. There will be an even greater backlash if the review proposes plunging students into greater debt.”
2. Government launches new framework for the future higher education
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson launched a new higher education framework last week, Higher Ambitions, setting out a strategy for universities, providing the nation with the high level skills needed to remain competitive, while continuing to attract the brightest students and researchers through greater business involvement and focus
Lord Mandelson said: “Able people and bright ideas are the foundation stones of a thriving knowledge economy and in the next ten years we will want more, not fewer people in higher education, and more not less quality research. We have made great progress in the number of young people going to university at 18 or 19 to do a three year degree. But the challenge for the next decade is to offer a wider range of new study opportunities – part-time, work-based, foundation degrees and studying whilst at home – to a greater range of people."
NUS President Wes Streeting said: “We welcome any proposals which would improve the information, advice and guidance available to applicants. However, we would be deeply concerned if this measure were viewed as paving the way for the raising of the cap on fees and the opening up of a market in higher education. Information about degree courses must not be allowed to be reduced to the kind of supermarket labelling one might find on a tin of baked beans.”
3. Lib Dems challenge Government over collusion and lack of student involvement in fees review.
In response to a statement on the higher education framework in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat higher education spokesperson Lorely Burt said:
“It looks to me as though the educational cat has escaped the bag. In almost the last paragraph of the statement, the groundwork for raising university tuition fees seems to have been laid. I was shocked this morning when the Secretary of State attempted to defend this Government’s introduction of tuition fees as a “bold and successful” move. In what way is saddling graduates with nearly £10,000-worth of tuition fees bold and successful?….The Secretary of State talked about students being more demanding, and rightly so, but why is the Minister apparently blocking the National Union of Students from being represented on the funding review panel?
“Worst of all is the confirmation that the funding review will not report until after the election. Such collusion between the official Opposition and the Government will only fuel suspicion that the two parties are set to raise fees, doing nothing for widening participation and driving up social mobility in this country.”
David Lammy Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, replied referring to the Worton review on languages, then went on to suggest leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg was flip-flopping on higher education funding and said the “Lib Dems can abolish tuition fees only if they are content to cut numbers; they cannot have both.”
4. Parliamentary Questions
Annette Brooke - Sixth form education (finance)
Brooke asked the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department was first informed of the projected reduction in funding for 16 to 19 year old education for 2009-10.
Iain Wright, Children, Schools and Families Minister replied:
“We worked across Government to identify additional funding for the recent surge in demand for education and training. Thanks to the £655 million funding announcement in the Budget, we will be able to fund learning for an additional 54,500 young people each year for 2009/10 and 2010/11. This additional investment will secure the learning places required to help meet the September guarantee of a suitable learning place for every 16 to 18-year-old who wants one.
“This will mean that we have funding for at least 1,550,000 learners for 2009/10 and 2010/11, the highest number of young people in learning that this country has ever seen.”
He then said the government was quickly to reassure school and college leaders their financial allocations would still be able to fund the growth in the number of young people continuing learning, and was quick ensure they could still fund a further 20,000 young people who had not made their choice of learning place earlier in the year.
Conservative David Willetts - Disabled students' allowance (spending)
David Willetts asked the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much had been spent on disabled students' allowance in each year since its introduction.
Higher Education Minister David Lammy replied:
“As part of widening participation, the Government give generous financial support to disabled students in higher education. Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs) are available to help with the extra costs students may incur on their course as a direct result of a disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty. DSAs are paid in addition to the standard student support package; they are not means tested and do not have to be repaid.”
Evennett - Higher education
David Evennett asked the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many higher education institutions have applied to be able to use the title of university since 2004.
Lammy replied:
Since 1 January 2004, there have been 19 applications from higher education institutions for university title. Of these 19 applications, 18 were successful.