implied by the peak levels of the "central projection" in Appendix II. Such a step might mean interpreting the Robbins principle in a new way, though it would retain intact the underlying philosphy referred to in paragraph 3.
23. One way of maintaining intakes while constraining total numbers would be to encourage provision and take-up of two-year rather than three-year higher education courses. The Diploma of Higher Education might offer one vehicle for this, and there might also be the possibility of accelerated degree courses for the most able students. If a change to two-year courses were to constitute the sole means of keeping total numbers at a maximum of 560,000, those courses would need to divert an entry of up to 40,000 students a year from longer courses for a limited period. A switch on this scale would involve the higher education institutions in a massive (and expensive) exercise in course planning, but this does not mean that it might not be feasible; and changes in the awards structure could be used to encourage take-up.
24. Another possibility which could help to ease the problems of planning for the 1980s would be to divert students from full-time to part-time courses. Already full-time and sandwich course students represent little more than 50% of those in advanced further education excluding teacher training (although about 90% of those in universities, where degree courses are much more dominant). Existing part-time advanced courses are often stretched out over many years, and individual students may attend for as little as one day a week. For the last seven years, the Open University has also offered its own particular contribution to part-time higher education.
25. However, existing part-time advanced provision in the maintained sector is largely confined to strongly vocational courses, and students on them are usually already in related occupations. There is little evidence of unsatisfied demand. At the Open University too, the range of subjects available is limited. And in both the Open University and maintained institutions, courses are frequently very long and wastage rates high: this reflects in large measure the very considerable demands which part-time study imposes on individual students, testing their motivation to the utmost. Nevertheless, more generous financial assistance for part-time students (as, for example, in the form of longer periods of paid educational leave from their employment) might both encourage take-up and reduce wastage.
26. One particular further possibility which could have the effect of smoothing out the projected peak in student numbers would also have educational merits. Individual students and institutions can both benefit from deferring initial entry to higher education for a period after leaving school. Already some institutions may encourage students to obtain work experience between school and higher education by offering them a place for a year ahead. It is possible to envisage a formal system of deferment, under which individuals applying for entry straight from school for whom no place was available would be given priority over first-time applicants in the following year. The following table illustrates the effect of a simplified scheme of this sort. It assumes total provision for 560,000 students and that all the students not finding places straight from school would in fact re-present themselves a year later. It suggests that the proportion of deferred entrants could rise as high as 70% of all applicants in the most difficult year, and might be running at over 25% from 1984/85 until well into the 1990s.
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