News

OFFA gives us the thumbs up

Published 12 July 2011

The Office For Fair Access (OFFA) today approved plans by the University of Brighton to spend more than £5m annually supporting students from non-traditional backgrounds at university.

The package, which includes fee waivers, bursaries and other forms of financial support, could reduce fees by £4,000 over the length of recipients' courses.

A further £2.8m will be invested in outreach work with local schools and colleges, and for academic and pastoral support for students most in need, to help them make successful applications to the university and to support them in their studies and beyond.

The measures formed a central part of the university's Access Agreement which has now been approved by OFFA and which will see tuition fees of £9,000 for undergraduate degrees delivered by the University of Brighton and of between £7,000 and £8,300 for students at partner colleges.

Professor Julian Crampton, the university's Vice-Chancellor, said: "In making the decision on fee levels we have taken into account a range of factors including: the real costs from 2012 of delivery of our courses; the fact that many require highly-specialised facilities and equipment; the significant uncertainty as to the amount of future public funding the government will provide for our courses; the distinctive value of our courses many of which are approved by statutory and professional bodies; our growing reputation for research excellence; and our continuing popularity with prospective students – we have received close to 40,000 applications this year, making us the 12th most applied for university in the country."

Professor Crampton said the university was doing more than matching the government allocation for students applying for financial assistance through the National Scholarship Programme. They will receive £3,000 in the first year and £2,000 thereafter.

He said: "We also have programmes and support packages specifically designed to assist students from this area of the country."

Local 'Accord Plus' students, targeted by the University of Brighton's outreach programme in schools and colleges, will also be eligible for £2,000 bursaries a year.

Professor Crampton said: "Overall, we are shifting from giving small amounts of money to targeting substantial bursary support towards those who need it most.

"We and our partner colleges have a strong record of making higher education available to people from the entire spectrum of social and economic backgrounds in Sussex and beyond. We have a reputation as one of the country's most socially-inclusive universities and we are determined to continue offering a high-quality education which is accessible to everyone."