Universidad y reformas :IV UK

1. Our universities have a paramount place in an economy driven by knowledge and ideas. They generate the know-how and skills that fuel our growth and provide the basis for our nation’s intellectual and cultural success. Higher education in the UK enjoys a world-class reputation, with globally renowned teaching and cutting-edge research and innovation. We have maintained our position as a world leader, with continuing success in education exports in the face of increasing international competition. But we must be ready for the challenges of the future. 

2. The higher education landscape has changed fundamentally since the last major legislative reforms of 1992, leaving us with a university system that needs important reform to fulfil its potential and to sustain our global standing. 

3. Higher education is no longer limited to the academic elite within a small and primarily Government-funded set of institutions. Thanks to the changes 25 years ago that brought former polytechnics into the university system, and to the more recent increase in the diversity of higher education provision, there is more choice in where and how students can pursue higher learning. Whereas only 19% of young people went to university in 19901 , in 2013 this had increased to almost 40%2 – and this includes more people from disadvantaged backgrounds than ever before. We have gone from a higher education system that serves only a narrow band of people, to a broader, more diverse and more open system that is closer than ever before to fulfilling Lord Robbins’ guiding principle that higher education “should be available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue it”3 . 

4. In recognition of this shift, in 2010, we took steps to enable England’s higher education system to adjust to these new demands. In 2012, 13 years after tuition fees were first introduced, we took the decision to put higher education funding onto a more sustainable footing by moving away from reliance on grants from the state while maintaining funding levels for universities themselves. The majority of funding for tuition now comes from those who benefit the most from it, through income-contingent loans repaid by graduates and backed by the taxpayer. In 2015, we removed the artificial cap on student numbers to allow greater choice and to help competition to flourish. 

5. Higher education continues to be a sound financial and personal investment with a wide range of societal benefits. But there is more to be done for our university system to fulfil its potential as an engine of social mobility, a driver of economic growth and cornerstone of our cultural landscape. Access remains uneven, with young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds 2.4 times less likely to go into higher education than the most