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Universities are moving away from the idea that bursaries are the key to widening participation, diverting money instead to outreach events such as visits to local schools
Just over half (56%) of the money universities expect to spend on widening participation by 2018-19 will be dedicated to financial support – which includes bursaries, scholarships and fee waivers – down 15 percentage points on 2013-14.
For the first time, nine institutions in England – including Teesside, Middlesex and Roehampton universities – will spend no money on bursaries specifically for underrepresented groups.
Instead, universities have committed £146m to outreach work – up from £125m under the 2014-15 access agreements – while £131m will be spent supporting students during their studies through induction and buddying schemes.
Institutions have also begun recording how much they intend to spend helping students find employment – £46m under the new agreements – as greater emphasis is placed on ensuring disadvantaged groups benefit from their time at university.
The spending predictions are included in the 2015-16 access agreement which universities are obliged to submit to the Office for Fair Access (Offa) if they intend to charge more than £6,000 in fees for full-time courses. Each access agreement states how universities will attract and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Why are universities spending less on financial support?
The amount spent on bursaries has dropped from £465m under the 2014-15 access agreements, to £412m. This is partly because the government has decided to end the National Scholarship Programme after 2014-15, meaning universities will no longer be obliged to offer financial support such as bursaries or fee waivers. In total, the number of institutions providing fee waivers has dropped from 30% under the 2014-15 agreements to 6%.
For years, the lion’s share of access money has been dedicated to financial support, but Offa feels such spending has not proven to be cost-effective. While disadvantaged students are more likely to drop out of university, a study published by the body found that, under the old fee regime, bursary schemes do not make them any more or less likely to complete their course. Earlier research carried out by Offa in 2010 indicated that the precise amount of bursary awarded by a university or college did not affect a student’s choice of university.
A report published by Offa last week showed that while universities spent nearly £140m extra on attracting disadvantaged students in 2012-13, there had been little progress in recruiting poorer students to the most selective universities.
Today's report indicates that universities are moving away from the idea that bursaries are the key to widening participation.
Claire Callender, professor of higher education studies at the Institute of Education, told the Higher Education Network’s recent debate on widening participation: “One of the biggest problems with bursaries is that prospective students very rarely know if they will get a bursary when they are thinking about which universities to apply to. They need to know if they will get a bursary before they apply to a university.”
Offa has welcomed the “rebalancing” of institutions’ budgets. Professor Les Ebdon, director of fair access to higher education, said: “We’ve seen a clear change in investment patterns, with universities and colleges following Offa guidance to identify the areas in which they most need to improve and then to focus the balance of their effort accordingly, making sure they are investing in approaches and activities likely to have the greatest impact.”
Universities which have low numbers of students from underrepresented backgrounds should invest in outreach projects according to Offa. Those that have a greater proportion of disadvantaged students should spend more on supporting the “student lifecycle” – which means helping them to complete the course successfully and progress to a good job.
There has been a rise in the percentage of young English students from low-participation neighbourhoods starting a full-time course – but as the graph indicates, the increase has been slight.
Last year Offa warned of dramatic falls in numbers of mature and part-time students.
Could the move away from bursaries prove a better way to boost the number of underrepresented students? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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