Memorandum 123
Supplementary evidence from Professor
David Latchman, Master of Birkbeck College, University of London,
following evidence session on 17 January 2008
I am writing following the Select Committee
hearing on the ELQ Issue. I very much valued the opportunity of
giving evidence to the Committee and also found it most interesting
to listen to the evidence of the Minister and the Chief Executive
of HEFCE.
I hope you will not mind my writing to you to
point out a couple of matters which have arisen on the ELQ issue
since the hearing and which it may be helpful for you to know
about.
As you know, the HEFCE Board considered the
ELQ consultation responses as part of its discussion of funding
for universities in 2008-09 and I attach a copy of their communication
about this, in case you have not seen it.
I would particularly draw your attention to point
5 indicating that there will be no additional new places available
for 2008-09 in the aftermath of the ELQ decision. This means that
the ELQ places which will be lost in 2008-09 and the consequent
£20 million saving in the first year of the ELQ scheme (to
which the Minister referred in his evidence to you) is not being
used to produce additional numbers for 2008-09. Rather it is being
used to fulfil existing commitments or possibly to make a saving.
I thought you should be aware of this in terms of the discussion
at the Committee about the need to proceed forward so rapidly
with the withdrawal of ELQ funding.
Whilst writing, I also wanted to draw your attention
to the fact that the Minister in his evidence twice referred to
the Government increasing the part time premium which is payable
to institutions in respect of their part time students. However,
although there have been some improvements in other aspects of
part time support, the premium has remained unchanged at 10% for
at least the five years that I have been at Birkbeck. Indeed,
a HEFCE review group set-up to examine the effect of top-up fees
for full time students on the part time sector, specifically recommended
an increase in the part time premium in January 2005 but this
was rejected by the HEFCE Board.
The increase of £30 million (previously
£20 million) in the part time allocation which has been introduced
in response to the ELQ funding change will increase the part time
premium to approximately 15%. This contrasts with the results
of a HEFCE sponsored review (JM Consulting Ltd 2003) which found
that the additional costs of part time students to an institution
can be up to 44%.
January 2008
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