Higher Education: Admissions
8th February 2012
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Higher Education Funding Council for England and (b) Universities UK on steps to encourage adult students into higher education; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Willetts: I and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), meet regularly with the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) and Universities UK (UUK) to discuss a range of issues surrounding higher education including widening participation and fair access.
In the guidance from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to the Office of Fair Access (OFFA) issued in February 2011 the Government said it wanted to support mature students, that it would like institutions to consider such students within their overall approach to access, and would like OFFA to take account of their efforts in considering their access agreements. For the first time, we are making loans available to part time students to meet tuition costs.
