If universities are able to demonstrate high quality teaching at their establishments, they will be allowed to raise their tuition fees with the rise of inflation, the universities minister Jo Johnson, has proposed.
This was announced as part of a plan to improve teaching standards at universities by offering financial incentives, with Mr Johnson saying he wants to make sure that “the time and money students invest in higher education is well spent.”
“Our ambition is to drive up the quality of teaching in our universities to ensure students and taxpayers get value for money and employers get graduates with the skills they need.”
Under the proposals, universities who are able to provide high quality teaching will be able to increase their tuition fees slightly, in accordance with inflation, but universities whose teaching quality fails to meet expectations may be forced to reduce their bills.
There were a number of other aspects detailed in the proposal. Mr Johnson intends to: create a new Office for Students (to help students get value for money), make it easier to open new universities, change the marking system for degrees to include point scores as well as grades, and increase the number of students who come from a disadvantaged background or ethnic minority.
The University and College Union (UCU) has called for careful consideration of how to properly measure teaching standards, otherwise the “manipulation of statistics may be the name of the game, rather than bolstering student experience.”