Professor Julia Buckingham, President of Universities UK,
said: “Any reforms must be for the benefit of students,
the economy and society and be backed by sufficient funding to
ensure that every student receives a high quality education which
best suits their needs and aspirations.
“Enforcing minimum entry requirements for prospective university
students would be a regressive move, preventing students from
disadvantaged backgrounds whose prior educational experiences
have adversely affected their grades from attending university
and ignoring the evidence that many of these students excel at
university. A university degree remains a good choice for many
and a growing number of jobs in business and public services
require graduate-level skills; the economy and society cannot
afford a reduction in the number of graduates.
“It is encouraging to see government’s commitment to making
lifelong learning opportunities more accessible to all.
Universities UK has long called for a more flexible student
finance system which allows everyone to retrain throughout their
lives, helping to meet the country’s skills needs and rebuild the
economy and our public services. It also positive to see planned
reforms of the Teaching Excellence Framework in line with
ambitions to reduce bureaucracy, and we welcome the future
consultation on post qualification admissions.
“To better support students, government should provide
maintenance grants for those who need them the most, including
those considering studying shorter courses on a modular basis.
Maintaining funding for foundation years will also be essential
in supporting disadvantaged students and a withdrawal of funding
could lead to a shortage of students in strategically important
subjects such as engineering and reduce the opportunities for
talented underprivileged students.
“It is essential for students and communities that universities
do not see a reduction in funding. Our universities, staff,
graduates and students have been front and centre in the fight
against coronavirus. Sufficient funding is needed to ensure
universities can play a central role in driving the post pandemic
recovery of the economy and communities, as well as providing a
high quality university experience for students and meeting local
skills needs.”
ENDS
Background
- Measures to limit access to higher education would impact
disproportionately on young people from the most disadvantaged
areas. Because of attainment gaps that are evident from an early
age, there is a 19.3-month gap in attainment levels between
students from the least and most affluent backgrounds by the end
of secondary school. If the government were to introduce minimum
entry tariffs (a way of restricting access) this would
effectively write-off some students from disadvantaged
backgrounds despite evidence which shows they go on to succeed at
university. For example, 67% of entrants with grades below CCD
achieve a first or upper second once at university and have
similar levels of earnings five years after graduation to those
just above this threshold.
-
As UUK
has previously argued, subject level TEF would not have
been in the interest of students and would have created further
administrative burdens at an already challenging time.
- 17% of all entrants to Engineering degrees enter through
foundation years
- More than 40% of university courses have a technical,
professional or vocational focus, and increasing the number of
part-time and flexible learning opportunities will mean
universities are better equipped to help grow the UK’s essential
industries, supporting students for a career in important public
sector professions, such as nursing, to meet increasing demand.
- Employer demand for graduates remains high as employers look
to fulfill future skills needs.
-
- The Resolution Foundation Report showed that 90%
of net increase in employment between 2008 and 2018 was in
professional roles which are significant recruiters of
graduates.
- The UK
Commission for Employment and Skills “Working Futures”
report shows that with such an ageing population, we
will still see a significant demand for graduate level
occupations in the medium to long-term. Most other
developed economies are seeking to grow the number of
highly skilled graduates.
