Offa seeks evidence of best ways of attracting poorer students

28 Jun 12
The head of the Office for Fair Access has said the higher education watchdog needs evidence of which ways of encouraging poorer students to apply for and stay on at university are most successful.
By Vivienne Russell | 28 June 2012
 
The head of the Office for Fair Access has said the higher education watchdog needs evidence of which ways of encouraging poorer students to apply for and stay on at university are most successful.

Issuing Offa’s 2011/12 annual report today, outgoing director Sir Martin Harris said it was not yet clear whether bursaries or fee waivers were the most effective interventions.

In the report’s foreword, Harris wrote: ‘We recognise that bursaries are money in a student’s pocket now, whereas fee waivers reduce a loan that many students may not need to repay in full. However, we do not yet know which will prove more effective in terms of supporting and protecting access and therefore, as an evidence-based organisation, we should currently remain neutral on the issue.

‘It could be that the psychological fear of debt means that fee waivers have a role to play in minimising the financial barriers of accessing higher education. On the other hand, in the new landscape of fees of up to £9,000, bursaries may be a more powerful tool than they have proved in the past.’

He added that one of the greatest challenges facing Offa was to understand the impact of the new student fee regime, which takes effect in September, and the effectiveness of the support available. This was particularly important in the case of students from low-income backgrounds and other under-represented groups.

‘As soon as we are able, we will be doing further analysis on the relative effectiveness of the different methods of financial support, both in improving access and enhancing retention and success, an area where we now focus greater attention. If evidence emerges that one method is more effective than another, we will advise the sector and, where appropriate, government accordingly.’

Offa was established in 2006 to ensure that higher education institutions invested some of their income in activities such as bursaries, scholarships and outreach activities to attract students from disadvantaged and under-represented groups. From next year, all institutions will be subject to an annual access check by Offa.

The annual report revealed that English institutions predict that, from the academic year 2015/16, they will be spending £614.1m on access measures, 27.8% of the income they receive from charging tuition fees above the new basic level of £6,000.

Professor Les Ebdon, currently vice chancellor and chief executive of the University of Bedfordshire, takes over from Harris as director of Offa in September.

Spacer

CIPFA logo

PF Jobsite logo

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top