…A scramble for university is under way with up to 186,000 students chasing a dwindling number of unfilled places. With another record in the A-level pass rate, and 27% of entries gaining As or A*s, the competition appears more intense than ever. The university admissions service said 2010 was perhaps the toughest year for admissions for the past decade. Read the full article. …
…oes not do that quickly enough. It would exclude those who do not pay UK income tax or chose to graduate abroad. There would have to be cut-offs and exemptions, as Browne’s researchers are discovering. Worse for universities it would again centralise funding, making them more dependent on Treasury goodwill, not less as Blair-Brown intended in creating annual fees, one of their more important public sector reforms, vital to maintaining the triple-A…
…etary said. Mr Cable was setting out a more “progressive” system of funding that includes proposals for a so-called “graduate tax”. And he admitted that as the university sector becomes more competitive, it is inevitable that some institutions will struggle and should be left to fail. Read the full article. …
…ance of spending every pound of public investment to the greatest effect becomes even more important. “This publication describes a longer-term approach that enables these universities to focus resource on their strengths. “In the right circumstances, Alliance universities would be able to deliver some more radical changes for the university sector. In order to do so, we would need the new Government to ensure stable, predictable funding along wit…
…the Budget statement in March that it would “consider options” for resolving the issue, but there is growing frustration that any change may not come in time to help tackle funding cuts. Read the full article. …
…ltation question 5: Do you broadly agree that our funding method should be compatible with various modes of study, including flexible provision? Consultation question 6: Do you broadly agree that our funding method should be as simple and easy to understand as possible? Consultation question 7: Do you broadly agree that our funding model should be responsive and dynamic? Consultation question 8: Do you broadly agree that, to achieve value for mone…
…the point of use”. “Government could achieve an overall cost reduction in comparison to the current system, whilst still providing loans to cover the full tuition fee, even up to a fee of £9,000 per year, if necessary,” the document claims. But Aaron Porter, president-elect of the National Union of Students, said this could lead to students accruing debts of more than £40,000. Removing the cap on fees would expose students and their families to “…
…that its system would dispel “myths” about an upfront cost to university study and the language of debt. Its plans would see the troubled Student Loans Company replaced with a “Graduate Contribution Agency”. Read the full article ….
…ce-chancellors willing to say that the fee cap should be raised, or lifted completely – a development that will do nothing to enhance the public’s understanding of, or affection for, fees. If we were able to step outside of this sphere for a moment we might learn some lessons about why there is such a divide between public opinion on university funding and the view from within the sector. It isn’t simply about money or the fee cap. Read the full a…
…tion fees and maintenance loans to be funded by the private sector through sales of bonds, not by the taxpayer, as in Hungary. University Alliance, representing 22 universities including Oxford Brookes, Bournemouth, Plymouth and Nottingham Trent, said that companies should, in return, charge students higher interest on loans. Typical interest rates might rise to 4.5 or 5 per cent, from their current rate pegged to inflation. Students would not fac…
