This week the Education Select Committee’s had its first evidence
session for its inquiry on value for money in higher
education.
Evidence was heard from Director of Research and Communications
at the Sutton Trust, Conor Ryan, the Vice-President of the NUS,
Amatey Doku, and the Chief Executive of the Office for Students,
Nicola Dandridge.
Questions to the expert panel first focused on disadvantaged
students in higher education, and whether the gaps that remain in
access and achievement for these students mean that the system
requires fundamental reform. Conor Ryan highlighted the recent
Sutton Trust report, Fairer Fees, which recommended
the introduction of means-tested tuition fees and the
re-introduction of maintenance grants, to help close the gap in
access for disadvantaged students. He also discussed the loan and
fee structure for part-time students, and argued that the fall in
part-time student numbers since higher fees were introduced shows
a clear need for reform for this group of students.
Conor Ryan also highlighted another recent Sutton Trust
report, Admissions in Context, which found that
lowering university offers for disadvantaged pupils by just two
grades could lead to a 50% increase in the number of free school
meals eligible pupils admitted to top universities. He told the
committee that greater transparency in how admissions are
contextualised was also important to encourage disadvantaged
students to apply to the best universities.
NUS Vice President, Amatey Doku, raised concerns about the
attainment gap for disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic
students whilst at university. He also argued that universities
should not be judged on metrics which penalise them for admitting
these students. Nicola Dandridge, from the Office for Students,
discussed ways in which the office will seek to improve the
experience for students, for example by increasing transparency
and the guidance available.
Before the expert session, the committee took evidence from four
current and recent students from a range of different
backgrounds, including a degree-level apprentice and a mature
student who is also a single parent. Following questions from MPs
in the committee, the student panel highlighted both positive and
negative aspects of their experience of the higher education
system, with issues discussed including whether students had
adequate teaching time or access to teaching staff, and the value
of the facilities which universities provide. There was also a
discussion on the student panel concerning what value in higher
education really means, with the students questioning whether
higher education should be measured by graduate earnings and the
return they would get on their investment, or if it should
instead be measured by looking at how they developed
academically, for example in their abilities to examine and
critique arguments.
All students on the panel agreed maintenance grants should be
re-instated, and discussed the pressures they had felt to work
alongside their degrees to make ends meet. Degree
apprenticeships, allowing students to gain a degree without
taking on a large burden of debt, were enthusiastically endorsed
– but the degree apprentice on the panel highlighted issues of
stigma around this route, and the lack of information that is
currently available to prospective students.
Written
submission by the Sutton Trust
Sutton
Trust report, Fairer Fees
Sutton
Trust report, Admissions in Context
The transcript of the evidence session will be sent
as soon as it is available
