By Lucy Phillips
5 August 2010
Universities are spending increasing amounts of money on bursaries for poor students, yet the majority of applicants are not aware such support exists, according to the Office forFair Access.
A report from Offa, published today, says English universities and colleges spent £304m on bursaries and scholarships for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups in 2008/09, up from £191m in 2007/08. This was part of a £344m pot spent on overall measures to widen participation.
But the access watchdog found that awareness of the bursaries among prospective students was low, with only two-fifths of university applicants saying they had looked for information on these. The report also notes ‘worryingly’ that one in ten higher education advisers were not aware of their existence either.
Unions said the findings highlighted the need for a national bursary scheme. The University and CollegeUnion claimed that student support was a ‘lottery’ because the money available to poor students varied year-on-year depending on how many other students there were from deprived backgrounds.
UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: ‘Universities doing the most to attract students from the poorest backgrounds are unable to offer those students the vital funds they need to survive at university. A national scheme would be much easier to navigate and would ensure that those tasked with offering advice to students can point them towards much-needed funds.’
But Universities UK, the group that represents vice chancellors, said universities ‘had made great strides’ in promoting bursary schemes to ensure all eligible students were aware of them. ‘It is encouraging to see from this report that all students who applied for a bursary through the correct channels received one, and we will continue to look at ways of improving awareness about what’s on offer for potential applicants,’ said UUK chief executive Nicola Dandridge.
Universities that charge tuition fees above the basic rate (£1,255 in 2008/09) have to reach an ‘access agreement’ with Offa, which commits them to spending a proportion of their additional income on widening participation. Altogether universities spent 22.8% of their additional fee income on bursaries in 2008/09, up from 21.8% the previous year.
Top-up fee income shot up between 2007/08 and 2008/09 because more students had to pay the new fees, which came into place in 2006/07. There was also an inflationary increase in the maximum tuition fee rate and a rise in the number of students going into higher education.
Offa director Sir Martin Harris said it was ‘imperative’ that universities maintained their commitment to widening access despite the current public spending climate. ‘Clearly, with applications at a record high and restrictions on fully funded places, not everyone who applies to university will get a place. But we must continue to make sure that disadvantaged students get into the applications pool and are not disproportionately among those affected by this increased competition for places,’ he said.
Universities minister David Willetts said he was pleased the take-up of bursaries had improved, but ‘we must not be complacent’. He added: ‘Awareness of bursaries amongst prospective students remains an issue… All students must have the fullest possible information on which to base their choices and decisions about courses and institutions, including details of the financial support they can expect to receive,’ he said.
