The paper analyses the impact of a higher education (HE) funding mechanism, the "High Grades" policy, introduced as part of a student number control regime in England that was introduced in 2012/13 and withdrawn after only two years. This marked the end of an experiment in market making based on quality and price within a fixed student…

The policy environment for universities in England has changed significantly over the past few years. This can be seen most obviously in relation to the funding of undergraduate education, but other changes will come to be seen as equally influential in the long term. One example is the change to the policy on controlling student numbers, which is…