Introducing student number controls for courses and universities in England deemed substandard is said to still be under discussion in the Department for Education – though it has been urged to consider that the market is “doing the job” already via falling applications.
In 2022, the DfE consulted on introducing student number controls (SNCs) and minimum entry requirements (MERs), while the government said in the Queen’s Speech later that year that it would introduce a higher education bill implementing such measures, subject to the consultation.
With a new ministerial team now in place in the DfE, neither SNCs nor MERs featured in the bill introduced to Parliament this month by the department – which focused solely on the lifelong loan entitlement.
However, sources suggested that SNCs are still under active discussion by ministers. There is also a suggestion that the DfE has changed its thinking on needing primary legislation to implement SNCs, and now thinks the existing Higher Education and Research Act would allow the Office for Students to implement controls.
