Fall in mature students

The number of people starting part-time higher education courses has dropped 40% since 2010 and there has been a 7.1% fall in mature entrants (those aged 20 and older, who make up more than half of undergraduates) between 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The UCU lecturers’ union said the findings from the Office for Access showed that higher education was becoming a luxury many older students can’t afford.

UCU president Simon Renton, said: “The reality is we are talking about older students who are far more likely to have existing responsibilities ... and so are more averse to building up large amounts of student debt.”

www.hefce.ac.uk/media/hefce/content/about/introduction/aboutheinengland/impactreport/Impact-report.pdf

www.offa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/OFFA-ARA-2013.pdf