UCU response to OFFA report on student support funding

In 2010/11, universities and colleges spent 24.4% of their additional fee income on support for disadvantaged and other under-represented students. In 2011/12 they spent just 23.4%.

In addition, the report shows that over half (£69m) of the £131m National Scholarship Programme - introduced in 2012-13 to offset the cost to individual students of higher tuition fees - was spent on fee waivers.

UCU said the report was a timely reminder of the importance of funding for widening participation activity, especially following the 'short-sighted' decision to abolish the Aimhigher programme, which the union said had valuable expertise and access strategies for students from the backgrounds less likely to consider university.

The union added that funding for widening participation should not be traded off against central funding in the forthcoming spending review because universities needed both.

UCU head of higher education, Michael MacNeil, said: 'We would like to see more money spent on support for students whilst they are studying at university. Fee waivers are a cheaper option for universities - and reducing fees to try and entice students appears to sit at odds with government claims that high fees are not a deterrent.

'It was short-sighted to abolish the Aimhigher programme, which had expertise in encouraging disadvantaged students who were least likely to consider applying to university.

'And we urge the government to resist the temptation to trade widening participation money off against funding for teaching and research in the forthcoming spending review. Universities need both sources of income.'