The Government’s long-awaited response to the Augar Review of Post-18 Education and Funding has finally been published albeit in the form of two consultations.  

The consultations (the first is on policy reforms with the second focused on the Lifelong Learning entitlement) clearly set out the Department for Education’s intention to “clampdown on poor-quality university courses that don’t benefit graduates in the long-term”, rebalance Higher Education with Further and Technical Education, and reform the student loan system to tackle the rising cost of the system to taxpayers whilst the DfE claims, reducing debt levels for students and graduates.

The DfE says it intends to continue to focus the Higher Education landscape by investing in “high quality teaching, facilities and equipment to expand the UK’s provision of high-cost, high-return subjects that will in turn drive our economy in the future”.

Proposed reforms include: 

• The use of targeted student number controls to stem the growth of “low-quality” courses 
• A continuing focus on completion rates and courses leading to graduate jobs 
• The introduction of minimum eligibility requirements – possibly a return to two E grades at A Level or equivalent, or a grade 4 GCSE in English and maths or equivalent, with possible exemptions for mature students 
• A new national state scholarship for talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds to progress to HE 
• Student loan reforms including a two-year freeze on tuition fees, changes to interest rates for repayments, repayment thresholds and repayment terms 
• Reduction of the fee limit for foundation year courses to make them more accessible and more affordable 
• The growth of higher technical education 
• The implementation of the Lifelong Loan entitlement from 2025 to support students to study, train, retrain or upskill at any stage throughout their lives through flexible and modular courses.