Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to provide additional support to universities in preparation for A-Level results day in 2022.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I will continue to work closely with the higher education (HE) sector to support the 2022 intake of students to ensure they can go on to their next step in life following A level and T Level Results day on 18 August, whether that’s university, on-the-job training, moving into employment or continuing to study elsewhere.
In November 2021 I wrote to Vice Chancellors to recognise the hard work and dedication that the sector has shown to students throughout the last 2 admissions cycles, and to ask that they build additional resilience into their offer making strategies for the 2022 HE admissions cycle. I have also engaged HE sector bodies through the HE Taskforce to commend them on their efforts to date and to ask that they continue to put students first through the 2022 admissions cycle.
Furthermore, the department, in collaboration with Ofqual, has actively engaged with and sought the views of the HE sector in shaping the decisions for the 2022 exam series for AS and A levels and vocational and technical qualifications. We have put a package of measures in place to ensure that students can take their exams fairly to recognise the disruption that this year’s students have faced.
In addition, this summer Ofqual will ask exam boards to set grade boundaries in a way that avoids disadvantaging some students who might otherwise have just missed out on a higher grade. This means that overall 2022 results are very likely to be stronger than in 2019, but lower than we saw in 2021. This package of adaptations, combined with Ofqual’s approach to grading, provides unprecedented support to maximise fairness and help students reach their potential.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require the Office for Students to (1) monitor trends in international student recruitment, and (2) impose regulatory conditions on universities that have low diversity rates among their student body.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department monitors international student recruitment trends and has set out in the International Education Strategy (IES) that diversification and sustainable recruitment of international students remains a key strategic priority.
The IES sets an ambition to host at least 600,000 international higher education students in the UK, per year, by 2030. This ambition was met for the first time in the 2020/21 academic year, with over 605,000 international students studying in the UK.
The government does not plan to require the Office for Students (OfS) to undertake additional monitoring of trends in international student recruitment.
Regarding measures to improve diversity at specific providers, under OfS registration condition A1, all approved (fee cap) providers charging higher fees must have an approved access and participation plan in place. These must present a credible, ambitious strategy by the provider for closing identified gaps in access, continuation, and progression for disadvantaged and under-represented groups within their student body. Providers are held accountable on their targets via an annual monitoring return to the OfS. 171 providers had an OfS approved access and participation plan in the 2020/21 academic year, in accordance with the regulatory framework and powers under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.
It is important that providers focus on supporting students to see good outcomes, not just getting more disadvantaged students through the door, this is what will ensure that Higher Education (HE) remains an engine of true social mobility. The department expects providers to do more to support high prior attainment for all, and to help students to identify and access the pathways that are right for them. That is why we have tasked the OfS through guidance issued in November 2021 with a reboot of access and participation in English HE.
John Blake, as Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS, is responsible for driving these changes forward. John is working closely with the sector to encourage stronger partnerships between HE providers and schools, and the expansion of the range of courses that are both offered and promoted to prospective students.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take, if any, to increase the number of care leavers at high tariff higher education institutions.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We have published guidance for higher education (HE) providers, setting out areas where care leavers are likely to need additional support, including examples of the types of additional support that have been put in place, drawing on best practice from across the sector. We have also introduced the Care Leaver Covenant, which enables organisations, including HE providers, to make offers of support to care leavers.
The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers has developed the Quality Mark: a developmental accreditation process for universities and colleges to demonstrate their support for the inclusion and success of care experienced students. The Quality Mark has a focus on getting the right information to students on academic and pastoral support available to them, along with tailored mentoring and financial advice.
As autonomous bodies independent from government, HE providers are responsible for their own admissions decisions. However, the department encourages HE providers to put the interests of students at the heart of their decision-making, including providing the appropriate support for care leavers.
All HE providers in the approved (fee cap) category of the Office for Students’ (OfS) register are required to have an access and participation plan (APP) agreed by the Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS. In order to be approved, APPs must represent a credible, ambitious strategy to reduce gaps in access, participation and attainment for disadvantaged and under-represented groups.
As care leavers are underrepresented within HE, APPs will often address specific interventions by the provider for improving equality of opportunity for care-experienced individuals. This may take the form of targeted outreach, additional pastoral, accommodation or financial support while studying, or support through mentorship or buddy schemes.
Care leavers attending HE courses are treated as independent students when their entitlement to living costs is assessed. This means that in nearly all cases they will qualify for the maximum loan for living costs. Care leavers undertaking HE also qualify for a £2,000 HE bursary from their local authority. Additional bursaries are offered by some HE providers for care leavers in higher education.
The enclosed attachment contains the department’s analysis of the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record showing the number of care leavers who entered courses at English HE providers in each academic year from 2018/19 to 2020/21. Coverage refers to entrants domiciled in England prior to study and care leavers are defined as codes 01 and 04 in the HESA care leaver collection documentation. Further information can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c20051/a/careleaver.
The summary table below shows the number of care leavers who entered courses at high tariff[1] English HE providers in each year, along with total care leavers entering courses at all HE providers. A full breakdown by institution can be found in the attachment.
Academic year | Care leavers entrants at high tariff providers | Care leavers entrants at all providers |
2018/19 | 435 | 3,570 |
2019/20 | 505 | 3,895 |
2020/21 | 580 | 4,290 |
We will take account of the recommendations from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which is due to report shortly, when assessing what further support can be provided to increase the number of care leavers who attend university.
[1] The tariff grouping used here is the same as that which the Office for Students defined in Annex A (pg 20) of their technicaly guidance, available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/6591e671-624a-4ebf-a5fb-1be904a5eb9f/technical-gudiance-to-accompany-provider-modelling-finalforweb.pdf.
They are based on the average UCAS tariff score of their young (aged under 21) UK-domiciled undergraduate entrants in the 2012-13 to 2014-15 academic years. Providers in the top third of the ranking by average tariff score form the ‘High tariff’ group.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Ukrainian students have been offered at a place at a UK university; and what are those universities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Latest statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show there were 870 students from Ukraine studying at UK higher education (HE) providers in the academic year 2020/21. Further information on where they were studying can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-59.
Following Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, we have seen an extremely positive response from the HE sector in their offer of support to future cohorts of Ukrainian students and I am confident the sector will do their upmost to support Ukrainians wishing to access HE.
To support those who are granted leave under the Home for Ukraine Scheme, the Ukraine Family Scheme or the Ukraine Extension scheme, introduced by the Home Office, we have extended access to HE student support, home fee status, tuition fee caps, Advanced learner loans and FE19+ funding. This ensures Ukrainians who have been affected by the war in Ukraine can access support on the same basis as those within other protection-based categories (such as refugees).
Further information regarding the admissions of Ukrainian students entering UK HE in 2022 will be available through UCAS acceptances data at the end of the year.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues about establishing a scheme to allow medical students from Ukraine to be placed at UK universities to complete their studies.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Universities in Ukraine are striving to maintain the education of their students under extremely challenging conditions. We are working closely with the Medical Schools Council and the Council of Deans of Health who are liaising with universities in Ukraine to help ensure online learning materials are available to medical students to continue their education remotely, which may be particularly beneficial for students who are nearing the end of their course.
Universities in England are autonomous and responsible for their own admissions however I have urged higher education providers to look at how they can support students returning from Ukraine to continue their studies in the UK and show as much flexibility as possible.
Individuals will need to consider their own circumstances and what is right for them. Students who wish to explore their options with higher education providers in England should engage in conversations with their preferred provider to understand the full range of options available specifically to them. This may include restarting their course or studying related courses in the biological sciences or subjects allied to medicine.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2022 to Question 146609 on British Students Abroad: Russia and Ukraine, what assessment he has made of the capacity in UK universities to enable students who were in Ukraine and Russia to transfer to courses in the UK in accordance with the approach outlined in that Answer; and if he will make it his policy to issue updates on that matter through regular Ministerial Statements.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Universities in Ukraine are striving to maintain the education of their students under extremely challenging conditions. The department is working closely with the Medical Schools Council and the Council of Deans of Health who are liaising with universities in Ukraine. This is to help ensure online learning materials are available to medical students to continue their education remotely.
Universities in England are autonomous and responsible for their own admissions. However, I have urged higher education (HE) providers to look at how they can support students returning from Ukraine to continue their studies in the UK and show as much flexibility as possible.
Individuals will need to consider their own circumstances and what is right for them. Students who wish to explore their options with HE providers in England should engage in conversations with their preferred provider to understand the full range of options available specifically to them. This may include studying related courses in the biological sciences or subjects allied to medicine.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the advantages afforded to university applicants with at least one family member who has attended university; and whether university application forms should ask whether applicants are first-generation applicants.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Access to higher education (HE) should be based on a student’s attainment and their ability to succeed, rather than background. The Office for Students encourages Higher Education Providers (HEPs) to consider a range of characteristics that might prevent individuals from accessing or succeeding in HE within their access and participation plans. This may include ‘first in family’ status, which some research suggests is associated certain forms of socio-economic disadvantage, such as being from a low-income household and being eligible for free school meals.
It should be noted that HEPs are autonomous and independent from government and are therefore responsible for their own admissions decisions. It is important that the admissions system for HE is underpinned by a commitment to fairness, quality of learning and teaching, and places student interests at its core. We will continue to work with UCAS and sector bodies to tackle problems at their root, improving transparency, reducing the use of unconditional offers, and improving the personal statement to underpin fairness for applicants of all backgrounds.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a redistribution of student numbers between providers as a result of higher A-Level grades awarded in 2020 and 2021 on (a) students’ experiences and (b) providers’ finances.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The department has monitored data on student numbers at each provider as the admissions cycle concluded. This analysis was undertaken in calendar years 2020 and 2021 and helped to establish which providers were oversubscribed.
Along with conversations with the sector, this informed the department’s decision to put in place a package of support in calendar years 2020 and 2021, which included providing up to £10 million in additional grant funding to universities through the Office for Students (OfS), to help them to increase capacity in medical, dentistry, nursing, and high-cost science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects. The full package of support for calendar years 2020 and 2021 is set out in the ‘Regulating the financial sustainability of higher education providers in England’ report, available here: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/regulating-the-financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england/ in the “key facts” section under “key themes”.
The department is in regular touch with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, as well as the OfS to understand trends in student concerns. We receive the latest information and data about student complaints, which allows early warning of any significant change in the pattern of complaints.
The OfS is responsible for monitoring the financial health of the higher education sector in England, engaging more closely with those it considers at risk. In December 2021, the OfS reported that despite the many operational and financial challenges arising from the pandemic, the overall financial position of universities, colleges and other registered providers has remained sound over the course of the last year, with generally reasonable financial resilience.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the proposals in relation to Minimum Eligibility Requirements included in the Higher Education policy statement and reform consultation will apply to university students currently enrolled on a degree course.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I can confirm that any potential MER, if implemented, would not apply to students currently in L6 study and in receipt of student loans.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the FE Week article 'Confused and frustrated: Most universities reject first cohort of T Level students', published on 14 January, what steps they are taking to ensure that T Level qualifications are accepted by universities, both this year and in future years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We have undertaken an extensive programme of activities to encourage universities to consider the suitability of T Levels for entry to higher education (HE). As well as agreeing the allocation of UCAS tariff points, we have delivered numerous briefings to universities, collectively and individually, to explain the benefits of the programme and to answer their questions. We have also made available materials that will allow them to compare the content of T Levels with other established qualifications, such as A levels. We recently published a list of HE providers that will accept T Levels, which currently includes 74 universities and we expect this to continue to grow.
However, universities are autonomous institutions that set their own entry requirements. At this stage, their decisions are likely to be based on the first three T Level subjects, which will necessarily restrict the institutions and courses for which a T Level is suitable. As the remaining T Levels are rolled out, we will continue with our targeted engagement until all HE providers have had the opportunity to make an informed decision about the suitability of T Levels for their institution.