§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will give details of the Government's plans to monitor the impact of the new funding system on recruitment to higher education institutions of various categories of student, including mature students. [61932]
§ Mr. MudieInitial evidence shows that there is a small increase in the number of school and college leavers accepted for higher education, and that there is almost no change in the social composition of accepted applicants.
My Department has in place a programme of evaluation work to assess the impact of the new funding arrangements on participation in higher education by different types of student, examining for instance the social background, ethnic group, disability, age and gender of students. This work will draw on data produced by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and subsequently in the first half of next year by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). In addition we are commissioning an update of the Student Income and Expenditure Survey which will provide information about the impact of the new arrangements on student finances.
The key results of our monitoring and research will be published and available to Parliament.