Recent history of higher education in England

For more information on current reforms as the sector continues to develop, see our information on higher education funding reform.

1963: Robbins Report recommends substantial expansion in higher education. The principles and recommendations of the Robbins Report formed the basis for the development of the university sector for subsequent years. The report anticipated that by 1980 most higher education would be provided by universities or teacher training institutions.

1986: First Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)

1988: Education Reform Act creates the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council (PCFC) and the Universities Funding Council (UFC). The PCFC funded over 50 polytechnics and colleges previously funded by local education authorities. The UFC funded all 52 universities in the UK. Both Councils were non-departmental public bodies with a high degree of autonomy and an ‘arms-length’ relationship with the then Department of Education and Science.

1992: Further and Higher Education Act creates new funding councils for the UK, including HEFCE, and abolishes the division between universities and polytechnics.

1997: National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (the Dearing Report). The first fundamental review of higher education since the Robbins Report of 1963, its key recommendations included:

• changes in institutional and student funding
• further expansion
• a framework for qualifications
• support for an interdisciplinary arts and humanities research council.

1997: The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is established to provide an integrated quality assurance service for UK higher education.

1998: Teaching and Higher Education Act introduces measures to change financial support for students, including:

• tuition fees to be paid by all except the poorest students
• the replacement of the maintenance grant for living expenses with loans
• the availability of a supplementary hardship loan
• bursaries for students entering teacher training or health and social care courses.

1999: White Paper 'Learning to succeed' proposes a new structure for post-16 education and training.

2002-03: Roberts Review of research assessment recommends revising the RAE with a new method for assessing the quality of research. The new RAE process is then announced in February 2004.

2004: Higher Education Act takes forward the proposals in the 2003 White Paper ‘The Future of Higher Education’ with the aim of widening access to HEIs and helping them remain competitive in the world economy. Measures include:

• the introduction of variable tuition fees
• creation of the Office for Fair Access and Arts and Humanities Research Council
• the re-introduction of maintenance grants for students from lower-income households
• the designation of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, an independent body to review student complaints not related to matters of academic judgement.

2005: National Student Survey begins.

2006: Government announces that the RAE will be replaced after 2008 with a new assessment system. The following year initial proposals are published for the Research Excellence Framework.

2007: Burgess Group recommends the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR).

2010: Browne Review recommends major changes to higher education in England, including a proposal that more funding should flow through students’ tuition fee loans rather than through HEFCE. The aim is to increase quality by increasing competition between HEIs. This involves raising the cap on tuition fees to £9,000 and changing the system of loan repayments.

2011: White Paper ‘Students at the heart of the system’ takes forward the Browne Review proposals. For more details see our information on higher education funding reform.

Page last updated 22 November 2011