28 March 2008
The decision to cut state funding to students studying for second degrees was 'premature' and not based on hard evidence, MPs said this week.
In September 2007, ministers announced that, as from 2008/09, they would withdraw funding paid to higher education institutions to subsidise the fees of students studying for a qualification at equivalent or lower level to the one they already hold – so-called ELQ students.
But the innovation, universities and skills select committee says this change would mean tuition fees rising by up to 200% for students starting a second degree.
Its March 27 report says the decision would have been better left to the independent review of variable fees, due out in 2009. This would have been better able to weigh the funding of ELQ students against other priorities.
It criticises the government's failure to consult on the decision and says it is 'disappointing' that the Higher Education Funding Council for England appeared not to have pressed ministers to allow it to carry out a full impact assessment.
Committee chair Phil Willis said: 'We applaud the emphasis that the government has given to encouraging more people to go to university and to improving the skills of those in the workforce.
'But we could find no convincing evidence that ELQ students were preventing access for first-time undergraduates or that there was a significant unmet demand from first-time graduates.'
The committee said Hefce should have been asked to design exemptions from the withdrawal of ELQ-funding based on students and courses that were likely to provide the greatest benefit to the economy or meet skills shortages.
PFmar2008
