Universities cannot accept more ethnic minority students without eroding standards, the chancellor of Oxford University has warned, as the Government readies reforms which force them to publish admissions data.
Ministers are pressing ahead with proposals to require all universities to publish the gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background of their intake in what Jo Johnson, the universities minister, calls a ‘transparency revolution.’
But as the pressure to accept students from a diverse background increases, Lord Patten lay the blame on schools for failing to prepare students and warned that any enforced quotas would result in a lowering of academic standards.
A white paper, published on Monday, which sets out the biggest reforms to higher education in nearly two decades, also forces universities to provide value for money and encourage a free market philosophy in high education.
Universities must publish information about the jobs graduates get, their average earnings, how much time they spend in classes and lecturers and students will be able to switch courses more easily.
Institutions that score highly in teaching will be able to raise the £9,000 annual tuition fees in line with inflation.
A relaxation of the rules will give more institutions, including employers like Facebook and Google, degree-awarding powers for courses run in Britain.
