Hughes Report published

Simon Hughes MP, the government’s Advocate on Access to Higher Education, has delivered his independent report on improving access to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

The publication of the report follows six months of consultation with young people, teachers, parents, education professionals and universities. Some of the key recommendations it contains are:

  • Every school and college should be formally linked to at least one higher education institution by the end of 2011/12. In future the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) should make it a compulsory requirement for every university which wants to charge fees above the £6000 threshold to be an active member of a regional collaborative access body.
  • Scholarships available through the national scholarship scheme for young people on low incomes should be allocated directly to every non-fee-paying English school and college.
  • Government should reserve scholarships for courses which are linked to employment in the region of the university after the completion of the degree course.
  • All higher education institutions should recognise credit for coursework completed in a different HEI, allowing students to transfer between courses and finish their degree at a different institution from the one where they started.
  • Higher education institutions recruiting for longer courses and the organisations associated with these professions should have special programmes aimed at widening access to these courses and arrangements for them included in their access agreements.
  • Government should act urgently to guarantee face to face careers advice for all young people in schools.
  • All secondary schools and colleges should develop networks of former students willing to come back into school and work with current students to advise and answer questions about career, studies or life in general after school or college.
  • Students between 14 and 16 should be trained in basic financial management - to prepare them for adult life generally and for education, training and work choices in particular.

Download a copy of the report.
Read the Russell Group response.
Read the Universities UK response.

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