HE review panel tasked with keeping more student funding in Wales

A scheme that funds Welsh students to study at top universities across the UK will be replaced by a new national “progression programme” as part of a wider review of higher education funding, the government has announced.

Welsh policymakers published the terms of reference of a new independent review of higher education in Wales, which will look at the funding and organisation of the sector – described by the government as under “significant strain”.  

Plaid Cymru, which formed a minority government after May’s election, promised the review as part of its Senedd campaign.

The new review will aim to “secure a stable and sustainable higher education sector and student finance system, ready to serve the needs of Wales into the 2030s and beyond”. 

But with the Welsh government having little public money to spare, any recommendations must be “fiscally neutral”, according to the terms of reference. 

The panel leading the review has yet to be announced, but the government said it would include “higher education policy experts from Wales and beyond”. 

The group will also be asked to make recommendations for policies that increase the proportion of Welsh government student support funding that is spent in Wales.

Plaid Cymru has previously criticised the amount of public money that is used to support students to study at institutions outside of Wales, including through the Seren programme, an initiative that funds Welsh students to study at top institutions, often outside of Wales.  

Cefin Campbell, deputy minister for skills and tertiary education, said in a statement that the government aimed to develop a “new national learner progression programme” that will bring together the “strongest elements” of Seren and the Reaching Wider Programme – a widening participation initiative funded by regulator Medr – into a “single, coherent offer for learners across Wales”.

The panel will also look at ways to increase the numbers of students undertaking higher education through the medium of Welsh and bilingually, as well as enabling universities to deliver “globally competitive research”.

The scope of the review also includes examining the funding of higher education, including the provision of student loans and grants for tuition fees and living costs. 

Financial support for Welsh students is significantly more generous than for their English peers currently, but the Welsh government has criticised Westminster for reducing the cost of the student loans system in England, “undermining the affordability of the student support policy in Wales”.

Any changes to student loans must fall within the spending constraints imposed by Westminster, the Welsh government said. 

Campbell added that universities require “bold, structural reform, rather than gradual solutions”.

Elwen Evans, chair of Universities Wales and vice-chancellor of the University of Wales and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, welcomed the publication of the terms of reference.

“The review comes at a crucial time for Wales’ higher education sector and provides an important opportunity to look strategically at how our universities can best support the government’s long-term ambitions for Wales,” she said.

“Universities are operating in a rapidly changing environment and are already adapting and transforming to meet new challenges and opportunities. 

“A successful review can help ensure the policy and funding framework keeps pace with that transformation and gives universities the stability needed to continue innovating in the years ahead.”

The panel will be expected to produce an initial report on funding and student support by summer 2027 and a full report by winter 2027 to 2028.

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com