Student numbers: In short
The UK student population has grown substantially since the mid-1990s. However, in recent years there has been downturn, partly due to new visa rules for overseas students.
Documents to download
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Regulation of the higher education sector in England (173KB PDF)
| This briefing paper was last published in September 2013 and will no longer be updated. |
In June 2011 the government published the white paper Higher Education: Students at the Heart of the System. The paper made various proposals to change the way higher education institutions were regulated. However the anticipated Higher Education Bill did not occur and since then various changes have been made to the regulation of the higher education sector without primary legislation; this use of administrative procedures to change the regulation of the higher education system has been criticised by some commentators.
On 11 July 2013 David Willetts the Minister for Universities and Science announced a package of eight reforms to HE regulation in a written statement, Higher Education Regulatory Reforms.
This note outlines the current regulatory system, discusses the white paper’s proposals and the ministerial statement and provides comment.
Documents to download
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Regulation of the higher education sector in England (173KB PDF)
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