Response to HE Funding announcement 2010-11 Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - 17:04

Responding to the annual grant letter to HEFC from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, published on Wednesday 23 December 2010, Dr Peter Lavender - NIACE's Acting Chief Executive - said:

"Lord Mandelson's announcement will have a massive impact on adult learners. The Government's desire for higher education to be more flexible, participative and responsive to the needs of part-time learners can only be of benefit to mature students."

He continued:

"Of course, a lot depends on the scale of the cuts and where they bite. There's no point in increasing flexibility if students' progression is limited or the courses simply aren't there."

Professor Tom Schuller, author of Learning Through Life - the NIACE-sponsored report which sets out a 10 to 15-year vision of radical reform to provide learning opportunities for all - said:

"NIACE welcomes the Government's emphasis on the social - as well as economic - value of higher education. However, the commitment to promoting part-time study will have to be judged on how far funding incentives to universities are aligned with this goal. NIACE supports mode-free funding which does not penalise institutions for catering for part-timers, and looks for this to be part of the Government's future plans."