Today’s Education in the Media blog focuses on higher education.
University Admissions
Today, Tuesday 15 January, the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) released data on the impact of potential changes to university admissions. This was covered by the Guardian.
This piece is purely speculative as the post-18 review, being chaired by Philip Augar is still ongoing. The review will include a look at funding and ensuring that the higher education system provides choices and opportunities for all prospective students.
More information will be available in due course when the review has been fully conducted.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
Students are rightly concerned about value for money – that’s exactly why we are looking at how we can reform the whole system to make it fairer.
We do not comment on speculation and it’s important that we don’t pre-empt the outcomes of the review.
Tuition Fees
Today, Tuesday 15 January, the Intergenerational Foundation published a study on the proportion and effect of students who pay their tuition fees upfront at university. This was covered by BBC Online, the Guardian and the Mirror.
A DfE spokesperson said:
The student finance system removes financial barriers for those hoping to study but are unable to self-fund. Unlike commercial alternatives, student loans are available to all eligible students, regardless of background or financial history, and monthly repayments are based on income, not on the amount borrowed. On top of this, any outstanding loan balance is written off after 30 years with no detriment to the borrower.
The review of post-18 education and funding is considering how best to provide value for money, both for students and taxpayers – looking at how students and graduates contribute to the cost of their studies, to ensure funding arrangements across post-18 education in the future are transparent and do not stop people from accessing higher education or training.
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