Education and students in the new higher education environment HEFCE Annual Meeting 22 November 2012 Heather Fry, Director (Education, Participation and Students)

Key policy drivers for education and students De-regulation Social mobility Control of finance Greater student choice and influence in a more marketised system, where the student will eventually pay more towards their HE

Five illustrative areas of policy Risk-based quality assurance Joint national strategy for access and student success Student number control Public information about higher education The ‘collective student interest’

Quality Assessment : RBQA Driver: de-regulation Consultation will lead to changes being introduced in AY Main Features: 6 or 4 year gap; no mid-cycle review; concerns scheme prominent; quality enhancement and student engagement emphasised

Drivers: social mobility (and return for investment) OFFA and HEFCE will deliver to BIS early Autumn 2013 Will be based on evidence and expert opinion It will encompass: –diverse types of students –the role of IAG –collaborative outreach –effective forms of support for individual students –raising aspiration and attainment –achieving continuation and successful outcomes for students A joint national strategy for access and student success

Drivers: control of finance; de-regulation; increased student choice Aims achieved through three technical features that HEFCE operates: i. CORE: setting a core number of entrants that each institution should not exceed ii. HIGH GRADES: students with qualifications on an exempt list do not count within the core iii. MARGIN: created to re-distribute numbers to new/less expensive providers Institutions are autonomous in their admissions decisions Student Number Control policy

Public information Drivers: student choice and influence in a more marketised system New Unistats launched this year incorporates the KIS The start of a journey

Driver: a more marketised system 2011 White Paper – HEFCE as ‘the student champion’ Not new work for HEFCE, but a new prominence HEFCE will not have new powers, will continue to work with ‘soft powers’ of good practice, discussion etc HEFCE’s role in the student interest Promoting and protecting the collective student interest

Continuing change Interactions and pace likely to produce ‘unintended consequences’ Need for monitoring and revisions Competiveness becomes a stronger theme Impact will continue and probably pick up pace Implications

Thank you for listening