Next Gen News

Office for Fair Access insisted that universities be allowed access in exchange for higher tuition fees to increase

A government watchdog is warning private universities, if not tougher targets for how many low-income students, they give place to, they can not provide for higher fees charged.

Each university and University College plans in England, rising more than ? 6,000 in annual tuition fees to charge up to ? 9,000 in next year. But to do so, they have their proposals on how to expand access for disadvantaged students through the Office for Fair Access (Offa) approved.

Offa will officially announce next month whether it has accepted each university's plans. However, universities have told the Guardian that the watchdog has already privately come back to them demanding that they set themselves tougher targets. Some universities have warned that Offa's expectations are unreasonably high.

A highly ranked university, who did not want to be called, was said by Offa, there was not enough simply to set up to compete against its rivals.

"Our goal is to improve the performance of the sector as a whole, and therefore we need to improve your absolute performance ... and to measure how you do compared to others," said the watchdog. "Please consider this issue as quickly as possible and any changes you think appropriate."

"Why is it, then, just one month before the announcement of access agreements from Offa, we are being asked to raise our access targets again? Over the last decade, the sector has made real improvements in access for students from under-represented groups. However, for all the nudging of the figures by Offa, and institutional change implemented by universities, the reality is that the impact of government changes to the funding of higher education will be a live experiment with young people's futures."