Eighth Report - Financial sustainability of the higher education sector in England
Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee
HC 257
15 June 2022
Recommendations
1 results
2
Not Addressed
Despite a background of deteriorating financial health of an increasing number of providers, the Department...
Recommendation
Despite a background of deteriorating financial health of an increasing number of providers, the Department is not effectively holding the OfS to account. The Department is responsible for the overall regulatory framework of the sector and for holding the OfS …
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Government Response Summary
The response does not address the recommendation of establishing robust performance measures and targets, and instead discusses internal performance measures and consultations with the sector.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (7) Observations and findings — click to expand
7
Conclusion
The OfS carries out the annual National Student Survey to collect students’ views on, for example, the quality of teaching and learning they are getting. The 2021 survey ran from January to April and was open only to final-year undergraduates.13 The OfS commissions a separate survey each year, seeking students’ …
9
Conclusion
To create and maintain its regulatory independence, and seeking to minimise regulatory burden, the OfS does not maintain close ongoing contact with individual providers it considers at low risk. The OfS explained that it collected “a basic core from every registered university and college” but beyond this it considered its …
15
Conclusion
Not Addressed
We received written evidence from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), which told us that it also projected growth in recruitment of both domestic 18-year-olds and international students between now and 2026. UCAS projected that the 2026 admissions cycle would have one million applicants compared with just over 700,000 …
Government Response Summary
This response is a duplicate of the response to ID 15155 and does not address the specific observation about UCAS projections for growth in student recruitment and the need for providers to remain financially viable if projections don't materialize.
16
Conclusion
Not Addressed
In 2019–20, more than 340,000 overseas students came from 204 countries worldwide (excluding the EU and UK): 35% of those came from China and 14% from India.30 We received written evidence from Universities UK that this income stream may be subject to pressure from wider concerns, with overreliance on certain …
Government Response Summary
This response is a duplicate of the response to ID 15155 and does not address the specific point about diversification of international student recruitment and over-reliance on certain countries.
17
Conclusion
Not Addressed
The Department described the responsibility for maximising international student participation as being a shared one between government as a whole and individual institutions. We expressed concern about potential tensions between the aims of the Department, along with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to see more students coming …
Government Response Summary
This response is a duplicate of the response to ID 15155 and does not address the specific concern about tensions between the aims of different departments regarding international students and migration control.
23
Conclusion
Not Addressed
We asked the OfS how it made sure that providers had the relevant preparations in place to access support in the event that their financial sustainability was under threat, since some risks could materialise quite quickly. It described a process of escalating requirements, starting with discussions with the provider when …
Government Response Summary
This response is a duplicate of the response to ID 15144 and does not address the specific question about how the OfS ensures that providers have the relevant preparations in place to access support if their financial sustainability is threatened.
25
Conclusion
Not Addressed
The OfS told us that it did not have a definition of value for money because it believed that it could mean different things to different people at different times. In 2018 it had commissioned a consortium of student unions to look at what the definition of value for money …
Government Response Summary
This response is a duplicate of the response to ID 15150 and does not address the specific finding that the OfS lacks a definition of value for money.