Research shows bursaries do not improve a students chances of completing their degree

Giving bursaries to students from poorer backgrounds does not improve their chances of completing their chosen degree course, according to research.

Research from the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) has shown that bursaries offered between 2006 and 2011 have had “no observable effect” on continuation rates for undergraduates.

The report from OFFA instead suggests that A-level grades are a greater indicator of whether a student will complete their degree or not.

The report, commissioned by the government, did not examine bursary schemes offered to full-time students after 2012 when tuition fees were raised to £9,000 a year.

According to OFFA, the better a student’s A-level grades, the more likely they are to complete their degree.

Chloe Borthwick, a former Warwick student who has withdrawn from the University earlier this year, achieved A*AB in her A-Levels. She was not in receipt of a bursary from

She told the Boar: “I think that A-levels have more of an effect on whether or not you go to university in the first place, but once you’re there it’s about the experience you have and whether or not it’s right for you.”

Ms Borthwick, who previously studied Classics, decided to withdraw from university because of her choice of course. She said: “I realised that I should have been doing Drama instead – I’d made a mistake. I also found my course challenging.”

The research also found a “clear relationship” between a student’s household income and their likelihood to continue at university.

In 2010-11, 3% fewer students from the low-income group (less than £25,000 per year) continued their degree compared with students from the middle-income group (£25,001-£50,020).

Professor Les Ebdon, director of Fair Access to Higher Education, said: “This new piece of OFFA analysis shows that bursaries may not be the powerful retention tool that many currently believe them to be.

“At this stage, we’re not ruling out the possibility that bursaries may have an effect on retention rates – what we’re saying is that, within the constraints of the data currently available to us, we have not been able to detect any such effect.”