David Nightingale
University of Kent
“Students at the Heart of the System”
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White Paper: the headlines
• Introduce a more affordable & sustainable HE system
• Open up Higher Education market to Further Education and
alternative providers
• Free 85,000 student numbers from current controls in 2012/3;
•Unrestrained recruitment of c. 65,000 AAB+ candidates
•Create a flexible margin of 20,000 places – for HEIs and others with average fee
below £7500 to bid
• Change the data landscape of Higher Education
•Improving data provision for students and stakeholders
•Rationalise the collection of information
• Consultation on a single regulatory framework covering all
institutions that want to be part of the English HE system
• Introduce risk based quality regime –focussing effort where most
impact
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Some implications
• Intense competition amongst universities for
AAB+ students (and for Science students?)
• Nuclear arms race in terms of scholarships etc.
• Reduced number of places at most universities in
non-science subjects for students achieving
below AAB (thus more competition amongst
students)
• Huge continuing uncertainties
• Whether core-margin will continue and be extended beyond 2012
• Shift towards lower fee charging institutions:
• Is it what students want?
• Is it politically sustainable?
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Some consequences
• Great volatility in funding for individual
universities and HEIs
• Fall in applications to UCAS for 2012
• Damage to widening participation objectives
• Damage to collaborative partnerships
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Some consequences for Kent’s collaborations
• Potential mixed economy of franchised &
validated arrangements with a single FE
partner
• Some programmes where the students will
remain Kent students, others where they will be
the partner’s students – all with a single partner
• Raises issues for the management of the
quality of the student learning experience
• Directly funded FE partners will assume
responsibility for HESA, Student Loans, KIS
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Information for prospective students
• Key Information Set:
• Student satisfaction
• Costs of study and accommodation
• Availability of financial support
• Employment outcomes (by course) including
average salary of graduates
• Expected study hours (by course) and mix of
learning and teaching methods
• Assessment methods (by course)
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