§ Dr. FrancisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what steps he is taking to ensure parity of access to leading research-intensive higher education institutions between part-time students and undergraduates and postgraduates; [113215]
(2) what action he is taking to ensure that part-time students have access to the full range of academic programmes available to their full-time equivalents. [113459]
§ Margaret HodgeThe distribution of places between full and part-time study is not planned centrally. We encourage flexible and part-time provision, and have introduced the foundation degree, which is designed to be flexible, and which has had very good take-up among part-time students. In the White Paper we set out proposals to improve the financial support for part-time students including providing fee support for those on low incomes, a new means tested grant to help with the costs faced by the students and support for childcare costs. We have also introduced a range of measures to encourage wider participation more generally, including at postgraduate level.
§ Dr. FrancisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance he will give to the proposed Office for Fair Access to ensure that part-time students are not disadvantaged in access to higher education. [113228]
§ Margaret HodgeThe remit of the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) will be restricted to matters relating to those students whose fees are subject to statutory limits. Part-time students will therefore fall outside the remit of OFFA. However, we strongly encourage institutions to widen access and it will be open to universities to include in the access agreements they submit to OFFA measures which particularly address the needs of part-time students.
§ Dr. FrancisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how he will monitor the relative effects of his proposals for higher education reform upon(a) part-time students and (b) full-time students, with particular reference to (i) entitlement and access to welfare and (ii) support services while on their courses. [113230]
§ Margaret HodgeWe will continue to monitor the effect of changes in student support policy on students entitlement to welfare benefits including discussions at official level with the Department for Work and Pensions. However, only a minority of students are eligible for benefits. We do not expect major changes in benefit levels for the minority of part-time students currently eligible as a result of our improved package of support for part-time students from 2004–05. We will222W monitor the impact of the Higher Education Grant for the small numbers of full-time students, largely lone parents and the disabled, who receive housing benefit and, in some cases, income support.
It is important that student services in higher education institutions develop in order to support a more diverse student population as we widen access. Institutions are however responsible for deciding what services they need to provide and how best to deliver them in light of their circumstances and those of their students. One measure of their success is the rate of student retention. HEFCE will be monitoring the performance of individual institutions in this area through the continued publication of performance indicators and will be working with institutions to bear down on non-completion.