BIS acknowledges that numbers of part-time students will fall if direct teaching grants are removed

The Guardian reports this morning that the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has produced an “impact assessment” of the affect on part-time students of rising fees and removing teaching grants.  The government has argued that part-time students will be beneficiaries of  the reforms because, unlike at present, they will become eligible for fees loans . However, BIS’s own study  says: “We estimate around two-thirds of part-time students will not be eligible for fee loans. At the same time, the withdrawal of the teaching grant might mean that fees are increased across the board (including for students not eligible for fee loans). This could have a negative impact on part-time participation overall.”