5 August 2010
million+ welcomes OFFA Report but cautions against increasing the bursary postcode lottery
The university think-tank million+ has welcomed the Report from the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) which confirms an increase in spending and the take-up of bursaries in 2008/09. However, million+ has cautioned against universities with the highest numbers of students being disadvantaged in Lord Browne’s Review of fees and in the Government’s Spending Review. In particular the think-tank has said that removing the statutory bursary without reducing the fee would increase the postcode lottery for students who currently receive differential bursary support according to where they study in spite of having the same household income.
Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of the university think-tank million+ said ‘This Report confirms that some universities have more than three times the number of students who are classified as low income by the regulator (OFFA) than others. If the Coalition Government is serious about social mobility and supporting a world-class system of universities, it needs to ensure that these universities and their students are not disadvantaged by the recommendations of the Browne Report on fees. Any proposal to remove the statutory bursary and replace with institutional support has the potential to increase the postcode lottery for students who already receive different institutional bursaries according to where they study. This enables universities which recruit the smallest number of disadvantaged students to offer much higher levels of bursary support than others.
BIS and the Chancellor will also need to make sure that any further cuts to higher education which are being considered as part of the Spending Review do not undermine the work being done by universities to promote social mobility.’
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- million+ is a leading university think-tank, working to solve the complex problems in higher education www.millionplus.ac.uk
- For more information, comment or interviews from million+ please contact Pam Tatlow on 020 7717 1655 or 07795645241
- For more information on OFFA’s monitoring outcomes report for 2008/09, visit: http://www.offa.org.uk/