How and why have higher education tuition fee policies evolved in England since 1997? A critical discourse analysis of Dearing, Browne and Augar

Abstract

The last 25 years have seen a dramatic shift in tuition fee policy in England. This paper uses Critical Discourse Analysis to understand the motivations behind policy setting, comparing the pivotal reviews undertaken by Dearing, Browne and Augar. It concludes that four themes may have influenced tuition fee policy making: national politics and political narrative; the marketisation and neoliberalisation of HE; the link between the costs and benefits of education; and the pressures of the economic environment.

Immersed in the Transitioning Higher Education Sector: The Impact of Transitions in the Higher Education Sector in England on Staff and Students

“…Higher Education (HE) in the United Kingdom (UK), and in particular England, remains in a state of uncertainty, the sector has had to adapt at pace in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in opportunities and challenges for HE providers and others. Such a complex HE landscape has involved navigating a great deal of unpredictability, at a time when the sector was, and still is, negotiating the outcomes of the Augar Review (Hickey, 2022) among other sector reviews, and the potential reprofiling of the sector (Ahlburg, 2020;Whalley et al, 2021). The HE Sector in England, as part of the Global Knowledge Economy, continues to be faced with challenges, from financial sustainability in an increasingly connected and marketised place, to regulatory regime shifts, resulting in HE providers working in competition to secure student numbers (Nielsen, 2015).…”