Student Numbers and Funding: Does Robbins Add Up?

This article explores how the R obbins R eport's recommendations for a massive expansion in higher education alongside a comprehensive system of student financial support, both financed by the public purse, came about and were translated into policy. It argues that these policies, including the R obbins principle, the desire for expanding educational opportunities plus the R eports' emphasis upon the public and social benefits of higher education, can only be understood within the context of the W elfare S tate and the values and ideas enshrined in its post‐war development. In addition, the article examines some of the R obbins R eports' projections about the number of student places demanded and compares these with the actual number of students enrolled, highlighting the changes in the composition of the student body overtime. It concludes by exploring issues concerning student funding and highlights the shifts in thinking about the role of higher education, who benefits and so who pays; changes associated with the end of the post‐war consensus about the W elfare S tate.