Universities to fight for places

28 June 2011 Last updated at 17:02 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent University students are to be promised more information and consumer power Universities in England will have to compete against each other and private providers for a quarter of their student places.

Universities Minister David Willetts has published plans to increase market forces in higher education in England.

Promising to put "students in the driving seat", he also announced there would be 20,000 places reserved for degrees with fees less than ?7,500.

Labour's Gareth Thomas said that it was "expansion on the cheap".

He told MPs that this was a "desperate drive to cut fees, no matter what the cost to quality".

The controversial plan to create extra places for privately-funded individuals has also resurfaced - on the basis that it will be restricted to those sponsored by a business or a charity.

There are also proposals to allow students to make an early repayment on their loans - a politically sensitive suggestion which raises the prospect of better-off students not paying as much as those who pay back their loans over several decades.

Private providers

Mr Willetts said the reform package would "open up the system" and "put power where it belongs - in the hands of students".

The White Paper, called Students at the Heart of the System, brings forward plans to make universities bid for a proportion of their places - and a higher proportion than had been anticipated.

This raises the prospect that some universities will lose student places - and Mr Willetts said that no government could offer a guarantee that courses or even institutions might not close as a result.

Continue reading the main story Universities to compete for extra places for pupils with AAB grades at A-level20,000 places reserved for degrees with fees of ?7,500 or lessUniversities will have to publish information about students' employment chances and salariesInspections triggered if concerns raised about teaching standardsStudent charter setting out consumer rightsWider role for private sector colleges and partnershipsFewer restrictions on "university" titleConsidering options on early loan repaymentsThis proportion of universities bidding for places is "just the start", said Mr Willetts. "We want to extend the system so more places are contestable."

From 2012, universities will be able to compete against each other in bidding for 65,000 places for students achieving AAB grades at A-level or better - rather than simply being allocated quotas, as they are now.

This will mean that universities, if they want to expand, can offer an unlimited number of places to students getting these grades, drawing them away from what might have been a second choice institution.

But this is likely to have only a marginal impact on most universities. According to an analysis by the 1994 Group of universities, the majority of universities have fewer than 5% of students with these grades.

There will also be 20,000 places allocated on the basis of "good quality" and "value for money" at institutions charging an average of?7,500 or less per year.

Since a high proportion of university degree courses are above this level, these places could be taken by an expanded private sector or courses provided through further education colleges.

Sir Steve Smith, president of Universities UK, warned that only allowing universities charging these lower fees to bid for these places "must not undermine the quality of the higher education system".

University title

In terms of improving social mobility, there had been discussion of changing the admissions system to allow applications after students knew their exam results - which previous official reports had recommended as fairer.

But a decision on this - so-called "post qualification application" - will not be considered until a review reports back next year.

The Bridge Group, a think-tank promoting social mobility through higher education, warned the White Paper could have a "negative impact" on social mobility in the long-term.

The White Paper also promises to reduce barriers to private providers entering higher education.

This includes a review of the use of the term "university" as a title.

There will also be an emphasis on improving the information available to students.

Last week the Higher Education Funding Council for England announced that universities would have to publish key information about courses, such as the average salary of former students, the cost of accommodation, teaching hours and satisfaction ratings from previous students.

The funding council will itself have a new role as a "consumer champion" for students.

There will also be plans for inspections to be triggered if there are concerns about the quality of courses or teaching standards.

But students were unimpressed by the plans.

Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students said: "Fees have been tripled and students have been exposed to the potential chaos of the market and yet there are still no concrete proposals for how quality, accountability and access will be improved."

The president of Oxford University Student Union, David Barclay, had earlier said: "Dressing up the White Paper with the language of student choice is like putting lipstick on a pig... Education is not a commodity to be bought and sold."

John Denham, the shadow business secretary, earlier dismissed the government's plan, saying: "It's a shambles, they're making it up as they go along."

He argued that the White Paper was an attempt by the government to get itself "off the hook" after universities set tuition fees at a higher level than expected.

Lecturers also attacked the proposals as an attempt by the government to recover from having lost control of fee levels.

"Trying to force down the cost of a degree after the government got its sums wrong will not solve the funding crisis it created," said Sally Hunt, leader of the University and College Union.

Competition on price will not affect Scottish students in Scotland's universities where there are no tuition fees. In Wales there are plans for Welsh students at Welsh universities to receive a subsidy covering increased tuition fees.

A decision on tuition fees and support for students at Northern Ireland's universities is expected in the autumn.

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