Million Plus

Commenting on a HEPI-HEA survey of 15,000 students published on 4 June, the university think-tank million+ has said that the survey shows that the government in Westminster needs to be cautious about cutting student support.

Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of the university think-tank million+, said:

“This survey confirms that there is a clear link between higher education funding systems and student perceptions about value for money.”

“It is hardly surprising that university students in England feel that they have received less value for money than their counterparts in Scotland bearing in mind the differences in fee regimes.”

“There will be a strong temptation for Ministers to look to reduce access to maintenance grants for students in England in order to balance the BIS budget. However, the survey confirms that 22% of students in England thought that the government should pay all of the costs of their higher education while a further 43% thought that government and students should share the costs equally.”

“Under the 2012 system in England students contribute about 75% of the costs of their education although none of this is upfront. The government therefore needs to be cautious about further cuts to student support if it is to keep students and their families on side.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:
1. For further information or to arrange an interview, contact Pam Tatlow on 0207 717 1655 / 07795 645241 or email press@millionplus.ac.uk.
2. million+ is a leading university think-tank, working to solve the complex problems in higher education www.millionplus.ac.uk.
3. Copies of the full report, the summary report and the full data sets will be available at www.hepi.ac.uk and www.heacademy.ac.uk from Thursday 4 June.