Just 125 students out of an expected 2,400 enrolled onto the government’s higher education short course trial – raising questions about demand for the flagship lifelong learning entitlement.
The “shocking” figures were revealed today by HE regulator the Office for Students as it published an independent evaluation report for the £2 million pilot.
Delivery of the scheme began in 2022/23 with 21 universities and one college – Weston College – handed a slice of the funding to develop 96 higher education courses shorter than traditional degrees at levels 4 to 6.
But just 17 of those courses at 10 providers were actually launched with student intakes, with a total of 125 enrolments – a “long way short of the more than 2,400 enrolments anticipated in project proposals”, as stated by the evaluation report.
