Universities ‘not pulling their weight’ on diversity

Higher education is failing students despite funding rising 50pc in the last decade, according to report

UNIVERSITIES are failing to “pull their weight” on boosting diversity, a damning public accounts committee report has said.

The Government’s spending watchdog criticised the Department for Education’s record on widening access to higher education, saying it “does not have enough of a grip” on initiatives and was “over-reliant” on actions taken by certain universities. According to the report, students from deprived backgrounds were still much less likely to enter into higher education than those from wealthier families.

MPS said they were “concerned that the incentives in the higher education market do not sufficiently support widening participation”.

The report noted that “outreach activities are primarily conducted by universities and while there are areas of good practice, some universities who find it easy to recruit students are not pulling their weight”.

MPS said that ministers now treat the higher education sector as a market, but noted that “it is not a market that is working in the interests of students or taxpayers”.

While there is greater competition for students between higher education providers, there is no evidence that this will improve the quality of the education they provide, the report found.

The amount of funding for higher education – primarily via tuition fees – has increased by 50 per cent since 10 years ago. “It is therefore critical that

‘These are not indicators of a market working in students’ best interest. Rather, they are the symptoms of failure’

the higher education market is delivering value for money, both for individual students and the taxpayer,” MPS said. Meg Hillier MP, chairman of the committee, said it is “deeply concerning” that evidence indicated that the Government’s approach to the higher education sector is letting students down. “The advice available to help students make informed choices is inadequate. Should students be unhappy with the course they choose, they are not sufficiently empowered to switch providers or get their money back,” she said.

Ms Hillier added that the ministers are failing to show that competition between institutions will drive up the quality of education. “These are not indicators of a market working in students’ best interests,” she said. “Rather, they are the symptoms of failure.”

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the Office for Students, said: “We agree with the committee that further, faster progress is needed to widen participation in higher education.

“Progress to date on access and outcomes for under-represented groups has been incremental and that is not good enough.

“Students deserve transformational change. So we are intervening directly to drive this.”