Mergers in universities shake-up

13 July 2011 Last updated at 14:41 GMT Swansea Metropolitan University is merging with Trinity Saint David and the University of Wales Ministers have been handed proposals for cutting the number of universities in Wales through mergers.

A blueprint from the body that funds higher education says mergers should create a "metropolitan" university in south east Wales.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews, who last year said universities must "adapt or die", is backing the proposals.

It would cut the number of universities in Wales from 11 to six.

A report from the Higher Education Funding Council Wales (Hefcw) calls for a merger between the University of Glamorgan, the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (Uwic), and University of Wales, Newport.

It would create a "metropolitan" university, comparable to those in similarly-sized cities and regions around the UK.

Trinity Saint David and Swansea Metropolitan University should merge as planned, Hefcw says, potentially with the University of Wales.

'Distinctly sub-optimal'

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I believe Hefcw's report makes a persuasive case for change and offers a clear rationale for the preferred structure proposed by the council”

End Quote Leighton Andrews Education Minister The three announced they would work together over the coming months to create a unified institution under the charter of the University of Wales, with the aim of a formal merger by August 2012.

Hefcw says a strategic alliance between Aberystwyth and Bangor universities should be deepened, with a long-term plan for merger.

Its report says "there are good grounds for arguing that the structure of the HE sector in Wales is distinctly sub-optimal".

Cardiff and Swansea Universities will continue to exist as separate institutions, although with more collaboration between them.

Mr Andrews said the report makes "a persuasive case for change and offers a clear rationale for the preferred structure proposed by the council".

"I am therefore minded at this stage to accept the broad thrust of Hefcw's recommendations," he said.

Mr Andrews said there would be more consultation with affected institutions before any final decision and dissolution order is made.

Value for money

The report was published in the week that eight Welsh universities were told they would be allowed to charge students the maximum tuition fee of ?9,000 a year. Welsh students will have the fees rise paid for them by the Welsh Government.

A spokesperson said the University of Wales, Newport had noted the announcement, but would not comment until its governing body and senior management had a chance to consider it in detail.

Trinity Saint David vice chancellor Prof Medwin Hughes will become vice chancellor of the University of Wales as part of the merger. The University of Wales's current vice chancellor, Prof Marc Clement, becomes president.

For the Conservatives, shadow education minister Angela Burns said: "At a time when there is considerable uncertainty over the future funding of universities, institutions need to co-operate and collaborate to ensure value for money for taxpayers, but we need to hear reassurances from the minister that the mergers proposed are sustainable and in the best interests of the education of young people."

Plaid Cymru education spokesman Simon Thomas urged Mr Andrews to proceed with "great sensitivity".

"I have particular concerns regarding the merger of institutions which currently see their future as independent bodies, albeit working together collaboratively, as the minister has refused to say whether he will force such mergers through," he said.

Liberal Democrat education spokesman Aled Roberts said the Hefcw report "is based on no significant discussion with the universities themselves and there is a lack of detail regarding some of the recommendations regarding Aberystwyth, Bangor and Glyndwr universities".

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Universities to fight for places

28 June 2011 Last updated at 17:02 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent University students are to be promised more information and consumer power Universities in England will have to compete against each other and private providers for a quarter of their student places.

Universities Minister David Willetts has published plans to increase market forces in higher education in England.

Promising to put "students in the driving seat", he also announced there would be 20,000 places reserved for degrees with fees less than ?7,500.

Labour's Gareth Thomas said that it was "expansion on the cheap".

He told MPs that this was a "desperate drive to cut fees, no matter what the cost to quality".

The controversial plan to create extra places for privately-funded individuals has also resurfaced - on the basis that it will be restricted to those sponsored by a business or a charity.

There are also proposals to allow students to make an early repayment on their loans - a politically sensitive suggestion which raises the prospect of better-off students not paying as much as those who pay back their loans over several decades.

Private providers

Mr Willetts said the reform package would "open up the system" and "put power where it belongs - in the hands of students".

The White Paper, called Students at the Heart of the System, brings forward plans to make universities bid for a proportion of their places - and a higher proportion than had been anticipated.

This raises the prospect that some universities will lose student places - and Mr Willetts said that no government could offer a guarantee that courses or even institutions might not close as a result.

Continue reading the main story Universities to compete for extra places for pupils with AAB grades at A-level20,000 places reserved for degrees with fees of ?7,500 or lessUniversities will have to publish information about students' employment chances and salariesInspections triggered if concerns raised about teaching standardsStudent charter setting out consumer rightsWider role for private sector colleges and partnershipsFewer restrictions on "university" titleConsidering options on early loan repaymentsThis proportion of universities bidding for places is "just the start", said Mr Willetts. "We want to extend the system so more places are contestable."

From 2012, universities will be able to compete against each other in bidding for 65,000 places for students achieving AAB grades at A-level or better - rather than simply being allocated quotas, as they are now.

This will mean that universities, if they want to expand, can offer an unlimited number of places to students getting these grades, drawing them away from what might have been a second choice institution.

But this is likely to have only a marginal impact on most universities. According to an analysis by the 1994 Group of universities, the majority of universities have fewer than 5% of students with these grades.

There will also be 20,000 places allocated on the basis of "good quality" and "value for money" at institutions charging an average of?7,500 or less per year.

Since a high proportion of university degree courses are above this level, these places could be taken by an expanded private sector or courses provided through further education colleges.

Sir Steve Smith, president of Universities UK, warned that only allowing universities charging these lower fees to bid for these places "must not undermine the quality of the higher education system".

University title

In terms of improving social mobility, there had been discussion of changing the admissions system to allow applications after students knew their exam results - which previous official reports had recommended as fairer.

But a decision on this - so-called "post qualification application" - will not be considered until a review reports back next year.

The Bridge Group, a think-tank promoting social mobility through higher education, warned the White Paper could have a "negative impact" on social mobility in the long-term.

The White Paper also promises to reduce barriers to private providers entering higher education.

This includes a review of the use of the term "university" as a title.

There will also be an emphasis on improving the information available to students.

Last week the Higher Education Funding Council for England announced that universities would have to publish key information about courses, such as the average salary of former students, the cost of accommodation, teaching hours and satisfaction ratings from previous students.

The funding council will itself have a new role as a "consumer champion" for students.

There will also be plans for inspections to be triggered if there are concerns about the quality of courses or teaching standards.

But students were unimpressed by the plans.

Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students said: "Fees have been tripled and students have been exposed to the potential chaos of the market and yet there are still no concrete proposals for how quality, accountability and access will be improved."

The president of Oxford University Student Union, David Barclay, had earlier said: "Dressing up the White Paper with the language of student choice is like putting lipstick on a pig... Education is not a commodity to be bought and sold."

John Denham, the shadow business secretary, earlier dismissed the government's plan, saying: "It's a shambles, they're making it up as they go along."

He argued that the White Paper was an attempt by the government to get itself "off the hook" after universities set tuition fees at a higher level than expected.

Lecturers also attacked the proposals as an attempt by the government to recover from having lost control of fee levels.

"Trying to force down the cost of a degree after the government got its sums wrong will not solve the funding crisis it created," said Sally Hunt, leader of the University and College Union.

Competition on price will not affect Scottish students in Scotland's universities where there are no tuition fees. In Wales there are plans for Welsh students at Welsh universities to receive a subsidy covering increased tuition fees.

A decision on tuition fees and support for students at Northern Ireland's universities is expected in the autumn.

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