The government has published its long-awaited Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, outlining several key changes it plans to make to the English university sector.

It says it wants to retain a system in which “providers continue to deliver world-class teaching” but one that is “reformed” so that it “helps everyone with the desire and aptitude to access high-quality higher education, aligns with the needs of the economy, is more specialised and financially sustainable, and delivers good value for students”.

In announcing the paper’s publication, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said young people feel “let down by a system that talks about opportunity but too often fails to deliver it”.

“These reforms will ensure value for money, higher standards across our universities and colleges and a renewed focus on the skills our economy needs,” she added.

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The key reforms proposed in the White Paper include:

Tuition fees to rise in line with inflation

After years of lobbying by vice-chancellors – and in the face of a mounting funding crisis – the government has announced tuition fees will rise in line with forecasted inflation. Crucially the uplifts will be made automatically, baking in increased funding for universities into the future.

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However, fee increases will be “conditional” on teaching quality, which the government hopes “will improve sustainability and support [universities] in maintaining their global reputation for delivering cutting-edge research and high-quality teaching”.

Raising the maintenance loan and support for most disadvantaged

The government says that it will “future proof our maintenance loan offer by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year”.

This will ensure that students from the lowest-income families receive the largest year-on-year cash increases in support, it says, adding that it will provide extra support for care-leavers, who will automatically be eligible to receive the maximum rate of loan.

It also confirms that means-tested maintenance grants will be reintroduced by the end of this Parliament, paid for by the international student fee levy. 

A focus on ‘groupings’ and regional collaboration

The White Paper puts a greater focus on regional skill gaps and universities’ “civic” role to their local communities. It says this can be addressed through greater regional collaboration between institutions.

“The government’s vision is that providers will be able to leverage their individual comparative advantage whilst working more closely together to create a compelling regional offer that supports students and drives growth, building on existing good practice across the sector,” it says.

This could involve providers in the same region sharing back-office functions and estates and could extend to allowing “groupings” that allow for more regional approaches, it says.

“We expect to see more consolidation and formal collaboration in the sector, with the result that institutions will be stronger and more financially sustainable, and provision might expand in areas currently under-served,” it says.

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Continued consolidation of powers for the Office for Students

“We will take measures to ensure the Office for Students has the capacity and power to swiftly identify low-quality teaching provision, and intervene to tackle it,” the government outlines, floating the possibility that the regulator’s powers will be extended.

It says it will consider options to increase capacity in the OfS to conduct quality investigations, and legislate to ensure that it is able to impose recruitment limits where growth “risks poor quality”.

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While the OfS is already consulting on tougher standards for universities that have franchised provision, it will also look to defund large franchise providers altogether unless they are registered with the English watchdog.

Greater flexibility delivered through the LLE

The government reaffirms its commitment to ensuring a more flexible higher education system through the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), outlining its commitment for learners to be able to move between universities, colleges and training providers, and building up qualifications over time.

A consultation will begin next year to explore introducing new “break points” within degrees, so students can gain recognised qualifications as they progress through higher education. 

The government will make it easier for providers and awarding organisations to offer stand-alone occupationally focused higher technical (level 4 and 5) courses.

“We will make the LLE more accessible by removing existing discrepancies between full-time and part-time study through the LLE funding rules, which will make it possible to fund study on multiple courses and modules at once,” it says.

Shift to ‘specialised provision’ 

The White Paper looks to more clearly define the role the government believes that higher education should play in British society. 

It says there needs to be a shift away from the “one size fits all” approach to HE, and “too many providers with similar offerings are chasing the same students and there has been insufficient focus on each institution’s core purpose”.

“We want all higher education providers to consider how they could specialise in areas of strength and collaborate with others for the benefit of students and the economy,” it says.

This “call to specialise” is intended to address “the increasing homogeneity in the system”, and “we will actively encourage each provider to be clear about the role they are playing, their unique strengths”.

Research funding reform

The White Paper says that the government will incentivise specialisation and collaboration through reform of research funding. 

This will involve a more “strategic distribution of research activity across the sector” to ensure institutions are “empowered to build deep expertise in areas where they can lead”.

The government says this could involve a “more focused volume of research, delivered with higher-quality, better cost recovery, and stronger alignment to short- and long-term national priorities”.

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The paper commits the government to exploring options for universities to jointly share research grants, as well as facilities and equipment.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com