Office for Fair Access
Encyclopedia
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
responsible for ensuring that any university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
or higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institution in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
which plans to charge variable tuition fees
Top-up fees
Tuition fees were first introduced across the entire United Kingdom in September 1998 as a means of funding tuition to undergraduate and postgraduate certificate students at universities, with students being required to pay up to £1,000 a year for tuition...
starting with the academic year 2006/7 has in place an acceptable plan to promote equitable access among its undergraduate applicants and those considering applying. The first Director, appointed in 2004, is Sir Martin Harris.
Background
The Higher Education Act 2004Higher Education Act 2004
The Higher Education Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced several changes to the higher education system in the United Kingdom, the most important and controversial being a major change to the funding of universities, and the operation of tuition fees, which...
introduced the concept of variable tuition fees
Top-up fees
Tuition fees were first introduced across the entire United Kingdom in September 1998 as a means of funding tuition to undergraduate and postgraduate certificate students at universities, with students being required to pay up to £1,000 a year for tuition...
for the first time. Whilst some parts of the United Kingdom, most notably Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, did not implement top-up fees, most universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
are in England and will thus be under the new regime.
This new regime allows HEIs to charge tuition fees of any amount from £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
0 to £3,000. (These caps were raised in 2010.) At the time this policy was being debated there was considerable concern that the amount of debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
new graduate
Alumnus
An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...
s would be faced with could dissuade some potential student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s from entering higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
altogether. Thus, as part of the debate, the Government of the United Kingdom decided to institute a body to oversee the introduction of fees to the extent of ensuring that such dissuasion did not occur. The Act established the Office for Fair Access and gave OFFA the power to prevent a HEI charging fees above £1,200 if it could not satisfy the regulator that it would make adequate provision for widening access and encouraging participation.
Operation
OFFA states that its mission is to:- "...ensure that the introduction of variable fees does not have a detrimental effect on widening participationWidening participationThe widening participation in higher education is a major component of government education policy in the United Kingdom and Europe. It consists of an attempt to increase not only the numbers of young people entering higher education, but also the proportion from so-called "under-represented...
."
It executes this mission by demanding that each HEI wishing to charge more than the basic £1,200 starting with 2006/7 must submit an 'access agreement' which OFFA will either approve, demand amendments to or reject. Any HEI not submitting such an agreement, or not having their agreement approved, can only charge tuition fees of £1250 until agreement is reached. An access agreement should
- "...set out how [institutions] will safeguard and promote fair access — in particular for students from low incomeIncomeIncome is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
groups — through bursaryBursaryA bursary is strictly an office for a bursar and his or her staff in a school or college.In modern English usage, the term has become synonymous with "bursary award", a monetary award made by an institution to an individual or a group to assist the development of their education.According to The...
and other financial support and outreach work."
"Low income" is defined as a family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
income of less than £15,200 (presumably in the 2004/5 tax year). The key terminology here is, of course "fair access" which OFFA defines as:
On March 17, 2005 OFFA announced that the first 118 access agreements had been approved and thus that these institutions could charge variable fees from the academic year 2006/7 and for up to the following four years. Interestingly, the press release reveals that 120 access agreements had been submitted; it does not say which two have failed.
OFFA also has
- "...a duty to protect the academic freedom of institutions..."
and so it does not regulate course content, teaching or admissions policies and criteria. Its remit is also constrained specifically to full-time UK/EU undergraduate courses and so it does not regulate part-time, postgraduate or overseas students fees at all.
Access agreements
OFFA requires that an access agreement must cover:- Fee limits
- Amounts of additional fee income to be spent on access measures
- Bursaries and other financial support for students, including:
- type of bursaries or other financial support on offer;
- level of bursary or financial support;
- target groups and eligibility of students
- Provision of information to students
- Outreach work
- Milestones
- Institutional monitoring arrangements
The most important of these, at least from the public-perception and media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
perspectives are the bursaries and outreach work. Nearly all institutions are going to charge the full £3,000 for all courses, so there is very little competition on the levels of fees.
Bursaries
The minimum level of bursary is the difference between the maximum state support a student could get (approx. £2,700 for the very poorest) and the fee level set by the institution. Thus, in most cases, institutions are required to offer at least £300 bursaries to those in need. Most bursaries are means-tested on the student's parents' income (unless the student is over 25) and so some students will not qualify for any bursary support. Access agreements do not have to specify the exact mechanics of how their bursaries will work, but they do have to specify whether it will be in the form of fee remission or 'cash-in-hand' to the student and how eligibility will be determined. Whether existing bursary schemes that an institution may have can be included in the access agreement will depend on whether they "...are appropriately targeted with the specific intention of encouraging and supporting students who are under-represented in HE [Higher Education]."Outreach work
Outreach work- "..means any activity that involves raising aspirations and attainment and encouraging students from under-represented groups to apply to HE"
and seeks some sort of formalisation of the activities already undertaken by many institutions. An institution deciding to fund such activity must describe what they intend, who they will target and the approximate number of people and school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s/college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
s likely to be reached.
Possible sanctions
Where an institution is found to have seriously and wilfully breached an access agreement, financial penalties may be applied. There is a series of review and appeal procedures available before this will happen, however. Presumably, the courtCourt
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
s will also be involved eventually if there is a serious dispute, although they are not part of OFFA's procedures. Whilst each institution is required to set itself milestones towards improving access, they will not be sanctioned for not meeting those milestones unless this is the result of some serious, wilful breach of the agreement.
The breaching institution may be fined up to £500,000 or about 110% of the amount promised but not spent on bursaries or outreach work. It is possible that OFFA may also refuse to renew their access agreement beyond the end of the five-year validity period for some specified length of time.
None of these procedures have yet been tested, since the new fees have only been operational since the 2006/7 academic year.
Criticism
The establishment of Offa has been criticised by opponents of the Government, who have nicknamed it "Offtoff". Those on the rightRight-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
have accused the Government of an attempt at "social engineering
Social engineering (political science)
Social engineering is a discipline in political science that refers to efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale, whether by governments or private groups. In the political arena, the counterpart of social engineering is political engineering.For various reasons,...
", whilst those on the left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
have argued that Offa is ineffective.
See also
- Variable tuition feesTop-up feesTuition fees were first introduced across the entire United Kingdom in September 1998 as a means of funding tuition to undergraduate and postgraduate certificate students at universities, with students being required to pay up to £1,000 a year for tuition...
(also known, inaccurately, as 'top-up fees') - British universitiesBritish universitiesUniversities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by Royal Charter, Papal Bull, Act of Parliament or an instrument of government under the Education Reform Act 1988; in any case generally with the approval of the Privy Council, and only such recognised bodies can award degrees of...
- Higher Education Act 2004Higher Education Act 2004The Higher Education Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced several changes to the higher education system in the United Kingdom, the most important and controversial being a major change to the funding of universities, and the operation of tuition fees, which...
- Tuition fees (UK)