Are cuts to foundation year course fees a spanner in the works for business schools as engines of social mobility?

In this blog, Mark Clark, Associate Professor in Management, University of Sussex Business School calls for a policy rethink to the cuts to foundation year course fees which will significantly impact the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds studying our FY BME courses.

A quantitative, longitudinal study at the University of Sussex Business School (USBS) tracking over 700 Foundation Year (FY) Business, Management, and Economics (BME) students confirms the positive social mobility effects of FY study for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds studying our FY BME course is greater than those entering via the main direct entry route reflecting national trends. FYs are significant for widening access into HE and the fee cut will likely harm social mobility. 

Specifically, our study compares B3 student outcomes ,continuation and completion data, of FY students from disadvantaged backgrounds to similar year one direct-entry students (non-FY), between 2015 and 2021. The analysis shows that FY BME courses contribute to progressively narrowing, and ultimately eliminating awarding gaps. FY BME students achieve better final degree outcomes than non-FYs from similar backgrounds (POLAR4 quintiles 1 & 2). Notably, due to the intersections between disadvantage and ethnicity, awarding gaps for FY students of colour (referred to as BAME for statistical purposes) similarly narrow. 

A full account of our findings is presented in the recently published, ‘Foundation Years and why they matter’, Chapter 4, ‘Closing the gap: A statistical analysis of the impact of a foundation year on awarding gaps in Business, Management and Economics’. (Gabriella Cagliesi and Mark Clark, 2024). To date there doesn’t appear to be another study with this specific interest and focus. IFF analysis, for example, doesn’t include direct comparison of the outcomes of similar FY and non-FY students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and therefore, fails to determine the extent of learning gains seen through the lens of different routes into HE.

The study confronts the Augar Review of Post-18 Education and Funding (2019) which concluded that FY courses ‘entice’ those from disadvantaged backgrounds to pay extra tuition fees, whilst offering poor value for money to students and taxpayers. The 40% fee reduction to class-room based FY BME courses to £5,750 recently announced by the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, can be traced back to Augar (2019). However, at the same time, Phillipson recognises ‘the importance of foundation years in promoting access to HE’, and has spoken of her personal commitment to tackling inequality. This makes the decision to cut the FY fee somewhat curious given the limited alternative routes into HE for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. (HEPI, 2019)

The DfE may argue a lower fee is more attractive, and fairer, to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, there is a credible argument that higher quality FYs will cease due to economic viability, and worryingly, what would be left is predominantly low-cost, poor-quality provision (Kernohan/WONKHE, 2023). This would not be a good outcome for disadvantaged students, or taxpayers, and portends the rolling back of the progress made by Business schools as engines of social mobility. (HEPI, 2021)

Stephen Leech Co-editor of ‘Foundation Years and why they matter’, in a  dissection of the decision, powerfully and passionately makes the case for properly resourced FYs. (Leech/Foundation Year Network, 2024). Put simply, the data supports FY’s as drivers of access and social mobility, including the DfE’s own data.

Augar’s conclusion can be understood in the context of the remit of previous governments to identify funding for lifelong learning from existing budgets rather than an evidenced-based assessment of FY courses (HEPI, 2019). Arguably, it was also a knee-jerk reaction to high FY student numbers growth in the preceding years (circa. 20%). HESA data between 2017-18 and 2021-22 makes for interesting reading by laying bare the incredible growth reported in a very small number of providers. Often low or no tariff providers, and/or via franchising (Kernohan/WONKHE, 2023). It raises serious concerns not least because of associated poor student outcomes, and bears no relation to the majority of FYs offered in universities' such as Durham, Sheffield, Sussex, and many more. The social mobility effects of the FY BME course at USBS is clearly evidenced in our study and is unlikely to be unique. (Cagliesi and Clark, 2024)

Josh Freeman, Policy Manager at HEPI, is right to argue that the government should adopt a nuanced approach in which a few institutions with poor student outcomes are sanctioned appropriately. Why implement policies which will likely harm the excellent provision of the majority because of a small number of providers with unusual practices and poor outcomes. Given the evidence for FYs as engines of social mobility it makes sense to continue funding with appropriate monitoring.

DfE statistics (2024) show that the proportion of students eligible for free school meals entering UK universities fell in 2022-23 for the first time in almost two decades. A Labour government vocally committed to social mobility would justifiably face criticism were this to become a trend. Arguably, the FY fee cut will mean exactly this because alternative access routes are limited, and properly resourced FYs will be withdrawn due to a lack of economic viability. (Kernohan/WONKHE, 2023); Pickering, 2023). A policy rethink focusing on reforming a flawed market distorted by the actions of a few with questionable practices is the right one because as our data shows FY Business courses are incredibly effective engines of social mobility when properly resourced. 

References

Cagliesi, G. and Clark, M. (2024) ‘Closing the gap: a statistical analysis of the impact of a foundation year on awarding gaps for Business, Management and Economics’, in Leech, S and Hale, S.(Eds), Foundation years and why they matter (pp.63-79). Emerald Publishing Ltd, Available at: https://bookstore.emerald.com/foundation-years-and-why-they-matter-hb-9781837972135.html