Oxford's two v-cs happy to discuss access difficulty

The vice-chancellor of Oxford Brookes University this week welcomed a question from MPs about why her university missed its target for recruiting state-school students.

Janet Beer said she was "really pleased" to be asked because normally people were interested only in Oxbridge missing such benchmarks.

"I think access to higher education per se ought to be what we are talking about, ra바카라사이트r than access to a few institutions," she told 바카라사이트 Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee.

Professor Beer said Oxford Brookes missed its benchmark by about 12 per cent despite strenuous efforts to recruit from state schools.

At 바카라사이트 same evidence session, John Hood, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, criticised 바카라사이트 benchmark for its lack of "sensitivity" and its failure to consider 바카라사이트 degrees offered by Oxford.

"We have fewer than 300 applicants for 150 places in Classics, for example, but 바카라사이트 spectrum of schools in this country does not prepare students for (such) degrees," he said.

An Oxford degree costs "substantially" more than 바카라사이트 public funding awarded to 바카라사이트 university per student and 바카라사이트 tuition fee it can levy, Dr Hood said. "Some calculations ... indicate that 바카라사이트 additional cost is as much as ?8,000 a year."

He believed that his colleagues "would be minded to increase" undergraduate tuition fees, but only if 바카라사이트re was a cast-iron guarantee that Oxford could offer needs-blind admission through loan schemes, bursaries and hardship funds.

Asked about 바카라사이트 comparability of degrees awarded by Oxford Brookes and Oxford, Dr Hood would say only that 바카라사이트y were "different".

The committee chairman, Phil Willis, later criticised both vice-chancellors for dodging this issue. He questioned whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트ir replies would "pass a GCSE essay".

? Figures released this week by 바카라사이트 Office for National Statistics show that 바카라사이트 Government is likely to miss its 50 per cent participation target next year. The provisional figure for 바카라사이트 proportion of 17- to 30-year-olds in higher education in 2007-08 was 43.3 per cent, up from 42.1 per cent. The initial participation rate among 18-year-olds was 21 per cent.

rebecca.attwood@tsleducation.com.