Concern at drop in part-time student numbers

Part-time and mature students tend to be from less advantaged backgrounds

England's university access watchdog has expressed concern at the sharp fall in the number of part-time and mature students in the wake of higher fees.

Director of fair access Les Ebdon said it was particularly worrying as those studying in this way tended to be from less advantaged backgrounds.

He said part-time degree starts had fallen 40% since 2010. The number of mature entrants fell 7% in 2011-12.

Universities should do more to reach out to older learners, he added.

Prof Ebdon said in his annual report: ""I am very concerned by the significant decline in part-time and mature numbers as students in these groups are more likely to be from groups under-represented in higher education.

"If higher education is truly to meet the needs of all those with the talent to benefit, it must be flexible enough to support those who choose to study later in life, whether part-time or full-time, as well as those who go straight to university from school.

"We need more mature students to meet the demand for graduates in the economy so it's vital that we understand what has caused the drop and what can be done about it."

'Reaching out'

Universities UK, the umbrella group for universities, is to review part-time and mature higher education later this year.

"Part-time access will also be a core consideration of the national strategy for access and student success that Offa and the Higher Education Funding Council for England are developing with the sector," said Prof Ebdon.

He added: "One possible reason contributing to the decline could be that the new student finance system has not been communicated clearly enough to prospective part-time and mature students.

"Universities and colleges have a role to play in addressing this, for example by reaching out to mature learners through employers and communities, and we have encouraged them to do this in their latest access agreements with us."

He also urges vice-chancellors to continue reaching out to young full-time students, as he warns there may be a time lag in reaction to the introduction of higher fees. Generally numbers of full-time undergraduates coming almost straight from school held up when fees were introduced.

Prof Ebdon said: "Data for the 2012-13 academic year, and for the 2013-14 application cycle which is still under way, may not prove to be indicative of longer term trends.

'Barriers'

"This is because it's likely that students who applied for entry in 2012-13 and 2013-14 had already made up their mind to go to university [before the fee changes]. In future, we will see students applying whose minds were not yet made up when the new system was introduced, and we cannot be sure how they will respond."

Those applying for courses at universities last year and this year would have already made their A-level choices, setting them on a path towards university, before the new fees up to a maximum of £9,000 a year were introduced in England in 2012.

A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokeswoman said it was determined to support all part-time students at university.

"From 2012 we made non means-tested tuition fee loans available to new part-time students. This significantly increases the number of students, including mature students, who can receive government support.

"We are working with Universities UK on their review of part-time study which will identify barriers to participation by all prospective part-time students and offer practical advice on how to improve this further."

Prof Sir Eric Thomas, president of Universities UK, said: "The 40% drop since 2010 in the numbers taking up part-time study is deeply worrying and Offa is right to focus on it.

"I am pleased that Offa is supporting Universities UK's review into part-time and mature higher education. There are a variety of factors influencing part-time study and the review is looking in detail into the reasons behind the changes, in both the short and the longer term. The review will recommend practical solutions to protect this vital provision. It will report in October 2013."