Overhaul bursaries, says UCU, as report finds little evidence they encourage students to stay on degree courses

OFFA analysed retention rates of students eligible for bursaries delivered through access agreements under the old system of fees and student support from 2006-07 to 2010-11. The interim report, Do bursaries have an effect on retention rates?, found that neither the size or availability of a bursary had an observable effect on a student's likelihood of dropping out.

UCU said the funding body, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and OFFA should overhaul the bursary system.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The old bursary system analysed in this report, and the current one, don't work because students get different levels of funding depending on which university they attend. Both are also impractical as students only find out how much they will get when they've started their course.

'The bursary system needs a radical overhaul to make it fairer and more practical. We think the solution is a national, transparent bursary scheme that offers support to support students from low income backgrounds. Young people considering degree courses would be able to clearly understand what financial help they would be entitled to, and once studying, could budget year-on-year.

'The evaluation of bursaries needs to be broadened and should include their impact on students' well-being and their degree classification.'