Office for Fair Access, offa

我本身想對英國高教多些了解.......

2010.2.3

獎學金到底該發給誰？

大學是否應該只把獎學金發給最貧窮學生？

英國公平入學辦公室（Office for Fair Access,OFFA）近日在一份報告中表示，英國大學應削減給來自中產階級家庭的學生的獎學金，只把獎學金頒發給最貧窮的學生。

英國公平入學辦公室在這份為政府提供的報告中說，在目前的經濟形勢下，大學應該更加有效率地進行獎學金的分配，只有來自最貧困家庭的學生才可以獲得獎學金。
英國大部分院校只為家庭年收入在25,000英鎊以下的學生提供慷慨的資金幫助，但是調查表明，一些家境適中的學生也會得到部分獎學金，其中有些同學所在家庭的年收入可達到5萬英鎊以上。
據悉，艾塞克斯大學（Essex University）為家庭收入在32,690英鎊至60,005英鎊之間的學生按比例提供獎學金。劍橋大學（Cambridge University）為家庭年收入在5萬英鎊的來自「中等偏下的家庭」的學生提供資金幫助。牛津大學（Oxford University）將標準定在49,999英鎊，而布萊頓大學（Brighton University）的標準是40,300英鎊。
英國公平入學辦公室在報告中說，面對目前的經濟制約，學術機構應該「重新平衡資金」，即把更多的錢花在貧困學生身上，鼓勵貧窮的小學生最終走進大學校門。報告還指出，一些院校目前也為高收入家庭的學生提供獎學金。然而，將獎學金頒發給最貧困的學生也許更有效率。
艾塞克斯大學的發言人在解釋該校的做法時說，「我們希望幫助那些從未得到過政府資助的學生，因此特意將收入標準提高，為的是不將這些學生漏掉。當然我們也意識到這樣做會產生的問題—會有越來越多的學生符合申請標準。」
來自羅素大學聯盟（Russell Group）的一位大學校長說，「將獎學金的接收對象鎖定在最需要幫助的學生身上固然重要，但是我們也不想讓來自中產階級家庭的孩子在申請學校時變得小心翼翼。」
公平入學辦公室成立於2004年，旨在確保大學為學生提供獎學金並公平錄取那些家境困難的學生。公平入 學辦公室曾經對英國的著名院校提出過批評，認為他們在擴大招生範圍方面「進展太慢」。據悉，公平入學辦公室主任馬丁·哈里斯（Martin Harris）將於下月就尖端大學應如何改善的問題再次向政府提交報告。

Office for Fair Access

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"OFFA" redirects here. For other uses, see Offa (disambiguation).

The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) is an independent public body that is intended to safeguard and promote fair access to higher education. It approves and monitors 'access agreements'. All English universities and colleges that want to charge higher fees must have an 'access agreement' with OFFA.
The first Director, appointed in 2004, was Sir Martin Harris. He was followed by Les Ebdon, whose appointment was confirmed in February 2012.

Contents

• 1 Background
• 2 Aims
• 3 Access agreements
• 4 Bursaries
• 5 Criticism
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 External links

Background

The Higher Education Act 2004 introduced the concept of variable tuition fees for the first time. Whilst some parts of the United Kingdom, most notably Scotland, did not implement top-up fees, most universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom are in England and are thus under the new regime.
That regime allowed HEIs to charge tuition fees of any amount from £0 to £3,000. (These caps were raised in 2010.) At the time this policy was being debated there was considerable concern that the amount of debt new graduates would be faced with could dissuade some potential students from entering higher education altogether. Thus, as part of the debate, the Government of the United Kingdom decided to institute a body to oversee the introduction of fees to the extent of ensuring that such dissuasion did not occur. The Act established the Office for Fair Access and gave OFFA the power to prevent a HEI charging fees above £1,200 if it could not satisfy the regulator that it would make adequate provision for widening access and encouraging participation.
For the academic year starting September 2012, the amount that institutions could charge increased to £9000, subject to approval by OFFA.

Aims

OFFA states that it has three core aims:

1. To support and encourage improvements in participation rates in higher education from low income and other under-represented groups
2. To reduce as far as practicable the barriers to higher education for students from low income and other under-represented groups by ensuring that institutions continue to invest in outreach and financial support
3. To support and encourage equality of opportunity through the provision of clear and accessible financial information for students, their parents/carers and their advisers.

These aims are primarily delivered through implementation of approved access agreements, and OFFA's work in monitoring access agreements and disseminating their view of good practice.

Access agreements

An access agreement is a document setting out how a university or college charging higher fees intends to safeguard and promote fair access to higher education through its outreach work, financial support etc. It also includes targets and milestones, set by the university/college itself.

Bursaries

OFFA defines a bursary as a cash award where the student’s eligibility is either wholly or partially dependent on their assessed household income. This is separate from a scholarship which it defines as an award where eligibility is not dependent on the recipient’s assessed household income. For example, some universities and colleges offer scholarships based on academic criteria or whether the student lives in the local area.
Before 2012-13, universities and colleges who charged higher tuition fees had to give a minimum bursary to students entitled to receive the full state Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant. In 2011-12, the minimum bursary was £338 although in practice, most universities and colleges gave much more than the minimum bursary – the typical bursary given to students on the full Maintenance Grant in 2011-12 was around £900 a year. Students who started their course in 2011-12 or before must continue to receive a minimum bursary.
From 2012-13, following Government changes to student finance, there is no minimum bursary. Lower income students may be eligible for support under the new National Scholarship Programme.

Criticism

Charges often made against OFFA are that it levels down rather than raises standards^[1][2] and that it replaces one form of unfairness with another as reforms are being achieved by "disadvantaging" the brightest children.^[3]

See also

• Variable tuition fees (also known, inaccurately, as 'top-up fees')
• Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
• British universities
• Higher Education Act 2004
• Tuition fees (UK)

References

1. ^ Media criticism: 'Mediocrity'
2. ^ Media criticism: 'Social engineering'
3. ^ Media criticism: 'Disadvantaging the brightest'

External links

• OFFA's website
• Text of the Higher Education Act 2004