Nick Hillman says government plans for a free-for-all ignored issues of university entry standards and how to fund enrolment
The government's plans for a free-for-all in university undergraduate numbers in England are "fuzzy" and were published without considering potential pitfalls, according to the special adviser to the universities minister at the time the policy was launched.
Nick Hillman, who was special adviser to David Willetts as minister for universities when the lifting of the cap on student numbers from 2015 was launched last year, says in a new report "the policy was announced without much thought being given to a number of tricky issues, particularly on funding."
Hillman, head of the independent Higher Education Policy Institute thinktank, argues that although allowing unlimited recruitment of undergraduates by universities is likely to have lasting benefits, the government has not tackled a string of potential problems such as whether universities should have minimum entry standards, or outlined how it plans to fund an increase in enrolment.
"The decision to remove student number controls is a vote of confidence in universities and young people. If successfully implemented, it could transform lives, improve social mobility and raise economic performance. But the policy was sprung on universities, with little attention to precedents at home or abroad," Hillman said.
"A critical outstanding question is how the policy is to be paid for. The government has recently ruled out a quick sale of old student loans, which was the original source of funding. It is hard to square current forecasts on the future number of students with the expected cuts to public expenditure."
The end result could be reduced spending per undergraduate, changes to student loans to recoup more of the costs of a degree course, "or even a reimposition of number controls in some form," Hillman concludes in the report, published on Thursday.
Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group of leading research universities, said: "We would be extremely concerned if the substantial funds required to pay for additional students were taken from the already very stretched budget for research and higher education.
"It would be very worrying if this policy leads to less funding per student. Good teaching requires proper levels of investment."
Other unresolved issues include a failure to impose a minimum level of academic attainment for entry, or what to do about dropout rates and student loan defaults measured by individual institutions.
Professor Steve West, chair of the University Alliance group, which includes Coventry University and Cardiff Metropolitan University, said that government funding should be linked to student retention rates, and that a single regulatory body was needed for all higher education providers in England.
Megan Dunn, vice-president for the National Union of Students, said: "We certainly don't want to see the focus on recruiting more of the same traditional three-year full-time students simply because that's where most of the money lies.
"It's important that this policy widens access to higher education and reduces the inequality in the sector instead of creating more uncertainty and financial risk to institutions and to students."
The removal of the cap is also likely to see an increase in students from the European Union choosing to study at British universities, according to Hillman, since their numbers will also be unrestricted under the policy, as a way of maintaining entry standards and increasing income. But EU students are also less likely to repay their student loans, Hillman points out.
Sumber: http://www.theguardian.com
The government's plans for a free-for-all in university undergraduate numbers in England are "fuzzy" and were published without considering potential pitfalls, according to the special adviser to the universities minister at the time the policy was launched.
Nick Hillman, who was special adviser to David Willetts as minister for universities when the lifting of the cap on student numbers from 2015 was launched last year, says in a new report "the policy was announced without much thought being given to a number of tricky issues, particularly on funding."
Hillman, head of the independent Higher Education Policy Institute thinktank, argues that although allowing unlimited recruitment of undergraduates by universities is likely to have lasting benefits, the government has not tackled a string of potential problems such as whether universities should have minimum entry standards, or outlined how it plans to fund an increase in enrolment.
"The decision to remove student number controls is a vote of confidence in universities and young people. If successfully implemented, it could transform lives, improve social mobility and raise economic performance. But the policy was sprung on universities, with little attention to precedents at home or abroad," Hillman said.
"A critical outstanding question is how the policy is to be paid for. The government has recently ruled out a quick sale of old student loans, which was the original source of funding. It is hard to square current forecasts on the future number of students with the expected cuts to public expenditure."
The end result could be reduced spending per undergraduate, changes to student loans to recoup more of the costs of a degree course, "or even a reimposition of number controls in some form," Hillman concludes in the report, published on Thursday.
Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group of leading research universities, said: "We would be extremely concerned if the substantial funds required to pay for additional students were taken from the already very stretched budget for research and higher education.
"It would be very worrying if this policy leads to less funding per student. Good teaching requires proper levels of investment."
Other unresolved issues include a failure to impose a minimum level of academic attainment for entry, or what to do about dropout rates and student loan defaults measured by individual institutions.
Professor Steve West, chair of the University Alliance group, which includes Coventry University and Cardiff Metropolitan University, said that government funding should be linked to student retention rates, and that a single regulatory body was needed for all higher education providers in England.
Megan Dunn, vice-president for the National Union of Students, said: "We certainly don't want to see the focus on recruiting more of the same traditional three-year full-time students simply because that's where most of the money lies.
"It's important that this policy widens access to higher education and reduces the inequality in the sector instead of creating more uncertainty and financial risk to institutions and to students."
The removal of the cap is also likely to see an increase in students from the European Union choosing to study at British universities, according to Hillman, since their numbers will also be unrestricted under the policy, as a way of maintaining entry standards and increasing income. But EU students are also less likely to repay their student loans, Hillman points out.
Sumber: http://www.theguardian.com
