The Public Accounts Committee examined funding for students of
alternative Higher Education providers in 2015 and found that
some public money had been provided to ineligible students,
whilst the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (who
were responsible for Higher Education at the time) could not
quantify how much money had been lost in funding students who did
not complete courses. In June 2017 responsibility for Higher
Education moved to the Department for Education.
A recent National Audit Office report reviewed the Government’s
progress in overseeing alternative Higher Education providers.
The report found that progress had been made towards reducing
drop-out rates, but is still 15% higher than for the rest of the
higher education centre. The report also found that, whilst
payments to ineligible students have reduced, the Department for
Education does not have specific enough data to measure properly
the level of, or trends in, ineligible payments.
Oversight of alternative providers has improved, but progression
rates for graduates from these institutions remain lower than
those from publicly-funded providers. Under the Higher Education
and Research Act 2017, a new Office for Students will soon come
into being to take on responsibility for funding and regulating
Higher Education, including alternative providers.
The Committee will ask representatives from the Department for
Education, the Student Loans Company and the Office for Students
(currently in the process of being established) about what
further progress they can expect to make, how regulation can be
better carried out in the future, and whether they have the data
they need to monitor whether alternative Higher Education
providers deliver to their students.
Submit written evidence
If you wish to submit written evidence to this inquiry, the
deadline to do so is Friday 12 January 2018.
