The Department for Education (DfE) has announced plans for ‘accelerated’ degrees which would be taught over two years instead of three.
The government department claims the degrees – which are already being offered by institutions such as the University of Buckingham and Staffordshire University – would save students around £5,500 in tuition fees.
Universities Minister Jo Johnson MP said: “For too long we have been stuck with a system that has increasingly focused on offering only one way of benefiting from higher education, via the classic three year degree programme.
“The passage of the Higher Education and Research Act this year has finally enabled us to break the mould of this one-size-fits-all system so students have much more choice over how they learn.
“Many will want to stick with the classic three year university experience, but for highly motivated students hungry for a faster pace of learning and a quicker route into or back into work, at lower overall cost, two year degrees will be well worth considering,” he said.
The DfE is now inviting higher education providers and student representative bodies to comment on the proposals, with a consultation on the plans closing in February next year.
In response to the announcement, a University of Lincoln spokesperson said: “Like many higher education providers across the UK we will consider the proposals carefully.
“At Lincoln, we’re committed to delivering the best experience and outcomes we can for our students, reflected in our TEF Gold award for teaching excellence and our UK top 20 rating for student experience in the latest Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018.”