In a letter sent today to universities regulator, the
Office for Students, Mr Williamson welcomes the review
and urged the regulator to set as high a bar as
possible on quality in the sector, so universities are
focused on reducing drop-out rates and ensuring the
best possible value for money.
The Education Secretary also made clear that he
supported the OfS’ intention to look seriously at the
rise of unconditional offers and whether ‘conditional
unconditional’ offers breach consumer law.
He outlines his support for the OfS’ review of
admissions to look into the benefits and challenges of
a Post Qualification Applications system, where
students would apply to university after receiving
their A level results.
Education Secretary said:
Higher education has the power to change lives and is
vital to producing the skills our country needs. But
this is only the case when students receive a high
quality education and we can be confident of the
value of the collective investment from students and
taxpayers.
We have to fight to keep the public trust and respect
in our world-leading universities and to me that
means a relentless focus on quality. That’s why I
want the OfS to go even further on this, developing
more rigorous and demanding quality requirements, and
I give my full backing to boldly use its powers to
ensure value for money.
I’m also concerned about how some universities are
recruiting students, in particular a worrying rise in
unconditional offers. So I welcome the OfS’ focus on
whether ‘conditional unconditional’ offers are
harming students’ interests and whether they breach
their consumer rights.
I recognise that we need to review if the current
system is working as well as it can, so I am glad the
OfS is looking at whether it would be in students’
interests to apply for their university place after
they have their A level results.
The guidance comes after the publication of the OECD
Education at a Glance report last week, which
highlighted the wide-ranging outcomes and earnings for
graduates, and Andreas Schleicher, Director for the
Directorate of Education and Skills, reiterated the
importance of having quality assurances in higher
education.
As the regulator for higher education in England, the
OfS plays a vital part in ensuring students and
taxpayers are getting value for money. The guidance
letter sets out the Education Secretary’s priorities
for higher education and his expectations for the OfS’
work, including:
-
Review how students rights’ as consumers can be
strengthened, including looking at options for
standardised contracts between higher education
providers and students;
-
To focus on part-time and flexible learning;
reviewing how to promote greater student choice;
and raise awareness of accelerated degrees;
-
Develop the government’s flagship Teaching
Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework to enable
it to be published at subject level in 2021; and
-
Explore how international students can be better
supported and integrated, in line with Global
Britain’s efforts to strengthen relationships
around the world.
