Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales Call for evidence – summary of responses December 2015 Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales Call for evidence – summary of responses Overview This document provides an overview of responses received to the call for evidence by the Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales. Further information Enquiries about this document should be directed to: HE Review Team Higher Education Division Skills, Higher Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate Welsh Government Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ e-mail: [email protected] Related documents Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales: Call for evidence (2014) © Crown copyright 2015 WG26348 Digital ISBN 978 1 4734 4714 1 Contents Section 1: Introduction and overview 3 Section 2: Statistical analysis of responses 4 Section 3: Responses to call for evidence questions 6 Question 1: To what extent do current student finance/support arrangements (student grants and loans) meet the needs of HE students, support the delivery of high-quality HE provision and provide value for money? 7 Question 2: Do you think that the Welsh Government policy of supporting Welsh-domiciled students to study elsewhere in the UK is sustainable and/or desirable in the long term? 24 Question 3: To what extent does the current HE sector funding system support high-quality provision and deliver value for money? 32 Question 4: To what extent do current HE sector funding and student finance arrangements support measures to widen access and improve participation in HE? Are there any alternative arrangements that you would like to see? 43 Question 5: To what extent do current HE sector funding and student finance arrangements support measures to widen access to HE provision through the medium of Welsh? Are there any alternative arrangements that you would like to see? 59 Question 6: To what extent do current HE sector funding and student finance arrangements support measures that respond to the skills needs of Wales? Are there any alternative measures that you would like to see? 67 Question 7: Does the current system of HE sector funding and student finance arrangements provide an appropriate balance of funding to support full-time undergraduate, part-time undergraduate and post-graduate study? If you think it does not, how might you change this balance? 80 Question 8: What does a top-class HE system look like and what would be the implications of not having a top-class HE system in Wales? 90 Question 9: What does a top-class HE sector funding system look like? 102 Question 10: What would you see as the components of a top-class HE student finance/support system? 112 Question 11: Do you think that current HE sector funding and student finance arrangements in Wales are sustainable? If you do not think so, what are the components of the current scheme that you would omit or change? 117 Question 12: Does the current system of funding HE provide for an appropriate mix of funding allocations to the HE sector (eg via HEFCW or Welsh Government funding allocations to HEIs) and subsidised loans and grants to students to ensure long-term sustainability? If you do not think the current system does this what would be the implications of maintaining the status quo? And are there any changes you would like to see? 124 Question 13: What challenges are institutions in Wales facing or likely to face that might affect their long-term sustainability or future direction and what measure can be taken by a) the HE sector itself; and b) the Welsh Government to address this? 130 Question 14: Where should the highest priority be for any future redirection or investment of additional education sector funding? 140 Question 15: What changes could be made to existing HE arrangements (financial, structural or otherwise) that would enable a more efficient and effective targeting of HE funding to where it is most needed and would have the greatest impact? 146 Question 16: It is estimated that the RAB charge for new students in 2014/15 is 34.6 per cent. Do you think this is appropriate? 151 Section 4: Proposals for the reform of current HE sector funding arrangements or for the introduction of alternative funding models 157 Fees 157 Maintenance support 158 Overall system 159 Aims of proposals 162 Other comments received in response to this question 163 Section 5: Additional comments and information 166 The student experience 166 The Welsh HE sector – vision 166 Initial Teacher Training (ITT) 167 Higher-cost subjects and STEM 168 Postgraduate provision 168 Research 170 The role of HE in the local economy 172 HE in the devolved nations 172 Law 173 Medical provision 174 Skills and vocational provision 175 Cross-border flow 176 Social and economic context 176 Support for the teaching of Welsh culture and history 177 Section 6: Responses on out of scope issues 179 Funding for the University of Wales Press (UWP) 179 Support for the University of Wales Dictionary of the Welsh Language 181 Annex A: List of respondents 182 Annex B: Links to published responses (where available) 187 Section 1: Introduction and overview The Review of Higher Education (HE) Funding and Student Finance Arrangements in Wales commenced in April 2014. In autumn 2015, a factual summary of evidence collected by the Review Panel as part of its work will be produced. The final report, including recommendations, is due to be submitted to the Minister for Education and Skills by September 2016. The final report will need to provide clear advice and recommendations for the future funding of the HE sector and student finance arrangements in Wales. The recommendations will also need to be deliverable, affordable and sustainable. The Call for Evidence is a crucial part of the review process and HE funding debate. It was launched on 24 November 2014 and ran until 27 February 2015. It invited written responses to 16 specific questions, set out in a questionnaire that provided background to the Review and its remit. Respondents were also invited to provide additional supporting information, including proposals for reform and alternative HE sector and student finance funding models. The link to the questionnaire is as follows: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/highereducation/review-of-he-funding- and-student-finance-arrangements/?lang=en (English) http://gov.wales/topics/educationandskills/highereducation/review-of-he-funding-and- student-finance-arrangements/?skip=1&lang=cy (Welsh) Responses to the Call for Evidence have been detailed, informative and thought provoking. They are a valuable addition to the evidence base. The Call for Evidence forms part of a wider stakeholder engagement exercise. Stakeholder views have also been gathered by other means, including focus groups (with current and prospective students, employers, student support staff, and widening participation professionals) and face to face meetings with the Review Panel. The views and evidence presented by all contributors to the Review will inform both the autumn 2015 summary of evidence collected and the final report in 2016. 3 Section 2: Statistical analysis of responses Overall, 166 written responses to the Call for Evidence were received. These included completed questionnaires and detailed reports1, together with individual letters and emails. Forty-six responded to the set questions and of these 42 used the questionnaire provided. The remainder of responses comprised individual letters and emails. Responses were received from Welsh HE and further education (FE) institutions and their representative bodies, a range of businesses, student and trade unions, third sector organisations and a large number of private individuals within Wales and beyond. Many individuals, whilst providing details of their academic background and/or position, responded in a private capacity; they have been identified as 'individual (HE)', unless explicitly responding on behalf of a HE department or institution. Table 1 and Figure 1 below provide a statistical breakdown of responses by category. A detailed summary of responses to the specific Call for Evidence questions can be found in Section 3. A list of respondents is provided at Annex A. Table 1: Statistical analysis of call for evidence responses by category Category Number of responses Campaign groups 1 Charity/trusts 6 Company/employer bodies 11 FE institutions and sector organisations 3 HE institutions (including HE departments) and 16 sector organisations Individuals 31 Individuals (higher education) 76 Professional organisations 2 Public/grant-funded bodies 8 Representative bodies 5 Sector Skills Councils 1 Student unions 2 Trade unions 4 Total responses 166 1 Supplementary and detailed reports were submitted in response to the Call for Evidence from a range of organisations including: the Learned Society for Wales (LSW); Universities Wales (UW); the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI); The Chairs of Universities Wales (ChUW) and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), etc. 4 Figure 1: Call for evidence responses by category NB Figures have been rounded to the nearest per cent. The sum of the constituent parts may not, therefore, add up to 100%. 5 Section 3: Responses to call for evidence questions Not all respondents answered every question on the questionnaire (with some answering one or more questions relating to their specific area of interest or expertise). Some respondents did not answer the questions directly or use the 'tick box' response facility, preferring to submit a separate narrative response only. These responses have been integrated into the analysis where a clear position on particular questions can be discerned to ensure, where possible, that the collation of responses to individual questions is representative of the views put forward by respondents. Where comments from respondents do not fit easily under a specific question, they have been included under 'Additional Comments and Information' (Section 5).