Poor quality university courses face limits on student numbers

The government has announced plans to restrict poor-quality university courses. 

Ministers will ask the independent regulator, the Office for Students (OfS) to limit the number of people on courses that do not have “good outcomes.” 

The government hope that by imposing restrictions it would encourage universities to improve course quality. 

Courses that do not have “good outcomes” for students would include those that have high drop-out rates and courses which have a low proportion of students going on to professional jobs. It will also look at potential earnings when deciding if a degree offers enough value. 

PM Rishi Sunak said: “The UK is home to some of the best universities in the world and studying for a degree can be immensely rewarding. But too many young people are being sold a false dream and end up doing a poor-quality course at the taxpayers’ expense that doesn’t offer the prospect of a decent job at the end of it.”

Nearly three-in-10 graduates do not progress into highly-skilled jobs or further study 15 months after graduating, according to the OfS.