David Willetts

Commenting on the National Audit Office’s report on ‘Widening Participation in Higher Education.

Shadow Secretary State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, David Willetts said:

“This is a very useful report. It would be a great pity if it were used to attack universities when it shows deeper structural problems, including poor career advice in schools, poor explanation of complicated bursary schemes and a lack of support for part-time students.

“This report confirms our analysis that the number of white working class young men going to university has dropped since 1997. We need to ensure that increased participation in higher education is seen across all groups.”
Notes to Editors:

The report, ‘Widening Participation in Higher Education,’ includes the following findings:

Increased participation needed across all groups:
• “Over the past five years there have been improvements in the participation of some groups in higher education, but not for all groups and some remain significantly under-represented in higher education.” (Paragraph 5, p6)
Poor career advice in schools:
• “Poor advice and guidance can lead to individuals making poor choices of qualifications to study at school and college, making unrealistic applications to higher education or not applying at all.” (Paragraph 20, p9)
Overly complicated bursary schemes:
• “There is no early evidence of a correlation between the level of an institution’s bursaries and applications…some students continue to have a poor understanding of the financial support available.” (Paragraph 22, p9)
Poor support for part-time students:
• “Part-time students in higher education (who are more likely to be mature) have access to more limited student support, must pay their tuition fees upfront and are often not eligible for bursaries.” (Paragraph 23, p9)