End of college autonomy?
A further contentious detail in the Government's already controversial White Paper on Higher Education constitutes a threat to the jealously-guarded autonomy of Oxford and Cambridge colleges.
Under the heading of "Fair Access", last Wednesday's White Paper identified the collegiate system as possessing "inherent" difficulties in ensuring access for all.
The document delivered by Charles Clarke, the Education Secretary, stated that it would support the "rapid extension" of reforms to "co-ordinate and centralise admissions", in the hope of attracting more students from poorer backgrounds.
This support is seen as a further step towards a centralised admissions system, which would deprive colleges of their current rights to interview and select their own students.
23rd Jan 2003