Oral - Statement on Student Numbers in HE in Wales

Deputy Presiding Officer, I wish to make a statement on the management of student numbers in Welsh universities. I intend to introduce measures to manage full-time undergraduate recruitment in order to maintain opportunities for access, standards of provision and the quality of the learner experience. Every new full-time undergraduate student recruited by higher education institutions from 2010-11 will increase the demand on student finance budgets by around £9,500 a year in grants and loans. The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has arrangements in place that restrict the numbers of fully funded places on undergraduate degree courses.

The pressure on the student finance budget has been increasing in recent years. This is partially the result of increased recruitment by HE institutions of full-time undergraduates eligible for statutory student support. In order to help alleviate this pressure, we need to consider measures to manage the number of students who are recruited. The latest figures available from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service indicate that there was an increase of 12 per cent in accepted applicants to Welsh higher education institutions in 2009, compared with the previous year, whereas in England the comparable increase was 5 per cent. There was also an 11 per cent increase in Welsh-domiciled learners who were accepted to Welsh HE institutions. We now need to manage student finance expenditure in a way that is sustainable and that will not be jeopardised by unplanned growth in student numbers.

In my remit letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales earlier this year, I asked the council to take steps to ensure that higher education institutions minimise the recruitment of students beyond agreed numbers. As a result, the funding council signalled to institutions that there are demands on the Assembly Government’s student support budget if institutions enrol students over and above the number of funded places. Prior to this, the funding council has advised institutions annually of the need for prudence when recruiting students. Therefore, institutions are fully aware of the situation, and the need for constraint at a time when public funding is tight should not come as a surprise.

Limits on student numbers are already in operation in the other three UK nations. The introduction of measures to manage undergraduate student numbers will bring Wales in line with the rest of the UK. Any limits that we introduce will not apply to part-time or postgraduate students. Also, the cap will not differentiate between priority and non-priority provision. A great deal of consideration was given to this approach. However, legal constraints, and my wish to avoid an overly bureaucratic approach, meant that we did not go down that route.

We are working with the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales on a range of positive interventions to promote national strategic priorities, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics provision, foundation degrees and Welsh-medium provision. My officials are discussing with the funding council the introduction of a limit on student numbers from 2011-12. The council will consult with higher education institutions on the arrangements to be put in place.

I want to make it clear that we have not reduced funding to universities. The Welsh Assembly Government’s higher education budget has been broadly flatlined for 2010-11 at the previous year’s levels. We are, however, asking institutions to have regard to the implications of recruiting fees-only students; at a time of constraint on public finances, it is only right that we do so. It is worth noting the extent of investment in the higher education sector in Wales. In 2010-11, the Welsh Assembly Government will make available capital and revenue funding of approximately £450 million to higher education institutions via the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. In addition, approximately £388 million will be provided via Student Finance Wales. Overall, Welsh Assembly Government funding for higher education via the higher education funding council has increased from around £335 million in 2002-03 to approximately £450 million in 2010-11.

I am pleased to say that institutions in Wales have among the highest student satisfaction ratings in the UK, and it is in no-one’s interest if universities recruit beyond their capacity to sustain high-quality provision. A comprehensive package of statutory student support is in place to help Welsh students enter higher education. This package of support is better targeted for the academic year 2010-11, following the findings of the review of higher education in Wales. As I have announced previously, students coming from the lowest income households will receive a grant for full living costs of £5,000, compared with a maximum of £2,906 in 2009-10. The package reflects broad agreement with the fundamental principle of targeting support towards students entering higher education from low-income households. Our student support arrangements, including the revised arrangements for the national bursary, offer learners the best and fairest support that the Assembly Government has ever made available.

The new arrangements for managing undergraduate student numbers are not a stand-alone policy. They should be viewed alongside the positive interventions to promote priority subjects and the introduction of a regional approach to planning, which are already in train. These include, for example, an investment of £1 million in relation to the national STEM programme, and setting aside over £7 million to support the development of foundation degrees. In addition, we remain committed to the development of Welsh-medium higher education. As I confirmed recently, I expect the coleg ffederal to be operational from 2011-12, and driving forward towards a target to have 1,000 additional students undertaking higher education through the medium of Welsh by 2013.

Alongside the management of student numbers, these are all integral components of an overarching framework for delivering 'For Our Future’ policy priorities, with the aim of ensuring a vibrant and sustainable higher education system in Wales.