“SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN HIGHER EDUCATION”

A CONSULTATIVE DOCUMENT (01/62) PUBLISHED BY HEFCE

A RESPONSE FROM LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY

· The University was represented at the consultation seminar held on 22 November 2001

· An internal report arising from that seminar has been considered by the University’s Student Recruitment and Admissions Team

· The wide ranging information provided by the document in order to identify participation trends and cohort analyses has made a helpful contribution to the context within which the University has been putting together its own widening participation strategy

· The University regards as particularly useful, data on the link between school progression and HE admissions

· The University believes, however, that additional research needs to be undertaken to test some of the general conclusions reached, notably in the area of the students’ decision making process and their perceptions of choice and motivations

· Other areas meriting more systematic investigation include rural poverty

· The University feels strongly that the document fails to give sufficient weight to the negative impact created by the changes to the system of financial support for students which have occurred during the last decade and which have increased complexity while neglecting the need for up-front support for students from poorer backgrounds, and urges that further research be undertaken as a priority

· The University agrees that the mature student category is unlikely to contribute greatly to the expansion in participation levels; nor, in the light of current demand, will sub-degree programmes galvanise recruitment

· The University supports the removal of the MASN but would caution the sector against expanding in a manner which would further drive down the unit of resource

· The University supports the commitment of HEFCE to continue to work in partnership with institutions in order to achieve increased participation while fully acknowledging diversity across the sector and refraining from seeking to manage explicitly growth in individual institutions

Author: Howard Jones

25 January 2002