 |
Fair access levy for universities
2011-03-08 17:43:22
8 March 2011 Last updated at 10:30 Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print Universities face tuition fee levy for poorer students By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Universities have been told how much they should give back to support poorer students Continue reading the main story University Funding Student finance calculator Universities 'may drop high fees' Q&A: Tuition fee rises Who's charging what?
Universities in England wanting to charge fees of £9,000 per year could have to spend £900 of that income on access for poorer students.
The Office for Fair Access (Offa) has published guidelines showing how much universities should spend on fee subsidies and outreach projects.
It sets a sliding scale ranging from 15% to 30% of fee income above £6,000.
Offa's director, Sir Martin Harris, says poorer students might feel they "cannot afford to go to university".
Paying backThe guidelines from Offa provide the clearest rules so far on how much universities should spend on ensuring that higher tuition fees from 2012 do not exclude poorer students.
Universities which have a "low proportion of under-represented students" are being advised to spend about 30% of fees above £6,000.
This would mean that some of the most prestigious universities charging £9,000 per year would have to spend £900 of this fee income on projects to support and recruit students from poorer backgrounds.
In universities which have a "high proportion of under-represented students", the guidelines suggest payments of 15% of anything above £6,000 - or about £450 if fees were set at £9,000.
Continue reading the main story FAIR ACCESS Universities wanting to charge more than £6,000 will need an access agreement approved by Offa This will set out plans for outreach projects, bursaries and increasing numbers of poorer students There are no quotas or specific measurements - universities will set their own targets But universities with £9,000 fees will be expected to use between £450 and £900 of this income on widening accessIf universities fail to deliver, Offa can refuse to sign the next annual access agreement - which would prevent a university from charging more than £6,000 per year.
The guidelines propose more spending on means-tested fee waivers and outreach work with schools, rather than on bursaries.
The government has raised the upper limit for tuition fees to £9,000 per year - and Sir Martin warns that the perception of such fee levels might put off poorer students, despite the financial support available.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
//WATCH: Dr Wendy Piatt of the Russell Group said bad choices of GCSEs and A-levels were more likely to hold back poorer students
The Russell Group of leading universities says its members spend £75m a year on access projects - and that the biggest barrier for poorer applicants is that they are not getting good enough results in school.
But the Russell Group welcomes the flexible approach which allows universities "scope to set their own targets and milestones for access work".
The Million+ group of new universities highlighted the areas that remain unclear - such as access for part-time students.
Sally Hunt, head of the UCU lecturers' union, said plans for higher education were in a "shambolic state".
"Universities are in a very difficult position as they try to set fees for a new untried system. Students are in a difficult position as they start to consider where they might like to study as how much it will cost them to study won't be clear until the summer," she said.
NUS leader Aaron Porter said the access regulator should now be in a position to ensure universities with poor records on access "are not allowed to continue to make excuses or pass the buck".
Universities Minister David Willetts said: "The government has been clear that universities charging more than £6,000 who are not meeting their access benchmarks should redouble their efforts to widen participation."