The government’s plans to increase competition, widen access to university and improve student choice are one of the centrepieces of the government’s programme announced in the Queen’s Speech last week.

The proposals published in the White Paper — entitled “Success as a Knowledge Economy” — last week will make it easier for “new high-quality challenger institutions” to award their own degrees and will give students more information about teaching standards and job prospects to help them make better informed decisions about what and where to study.

New providers and teaching quality at heart of HE reforms