The government’s review of post-18 education funding in England
must address the lack of clarity around tuition fees and the
costs and benefits of higher education, according to Universities
UK.
In its submission to the
review, Universities UK said that, while the system in England
had not deterred young people from full-time study – and has
provided sustained and stable funding for higher education –
there is a lack of public confidence and understanding of how it
delivers value for money for students.
The submission states also that the current system has not helped
those who wish to study more flexibly, and for whom full-time
study is not the preferred option. These include mature learners
seeking to study later in life or retrain, or young learners who
prefer to earn while they study. It calls also for the review to
address students’ concerns about living costs and fears of debt,
recommending the restoration of maintenance grants for those most
in need and changing the way interest is applied to student
loans.
The Universities UK submission makes a number of recommendations,
including:
- government should, in partnership with universities, provide
more targeted information to prospective students on the costs
and benefits of higher education
- universities could develop their value for money statements,
to better explain how pricing decisions for undergraduate courses
are arrived at. These should explain how the university uses
income from tuition fees, and other sources of income, to fund
the student experience and other activities such as research
- to deal with students’ concerns about living costs, new
funding should be introduced to restore maintenance grants for
those most in need
- to help address students’ fears of debt, government should
remove the interest rate that starts building from the start date
of the course, and deliver better financial advice, especially on
the difference between student loan debt and conventional debt
- greater exploration of ways that learners can study more
flexibly and piloting preferential loan repayment terms for
subjects that address national skills shortages
Dame Janet Beer, President of Universities UK and
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, said:
“While the current funding system in England has delivered
benefits, it could be better understood and feel fairer to
students. While students understand the general long-term,
financial benefit of entering higher education, they are much
less certain about how tuition fees and student loans are linked
to the costs of different courses.
“Working with universities, government should provide more
targeted information to prospective students on the costs and
benefits of higher education. We need to better explain how
pricing decisions for undergraduate courses are arrived at and
how income from tuition fees, and other income, is spent to
provide world-class higher education.
“Universities UK recommends also the reintroduction of government
maintenance grants, targeted to those students who need them the
most. The government’s switch in England from maintenance grants
to loans had a more significant impact on those from more
disadvantaged backgrounds, who need to take out higher loans for
living costs and so have higher lifetime loan repayments.
Universities UK is recommending also that more favourable loan
repayment terms could be introduced for graduates pursuing
careers and professions where there is evidence of a prolonged
skills shortage.
“The review must look also at the need for greater support for
those who wish to study more flexibly, and for whom full-time
study is not the preferred option.”
