As relocating families already know, access to detailed information is vital when making important education decisions – and those choices become no less complicated when young people continue into higher education. Yesterday, the government announced changes to the higher education sector and has outlined proposals which will mean prospective students and families will have access to much more detailed information about what courses and providers will offer.

The government published its long awaited white paper on Higher Education yesterday and, among its proposals for reform, came the call for universities to make available much more information about individual courses and graduate employment prospects.

The government is demanding that UCAS and higher education institutions make publicly available, course by course, information on the subjects and actual qualifications held by previously successful applicants. This will help 16-19 year olds make better informed choices about the subjects they take at A-level or equivalent qualifications and is likely to be very welcome news for families struggling to make choices about schools in the context of a move.

Information on employment and earnings outcomes of graduates will be analysed and presented to help students, their parents and other advisors. It is anticipated that consumer organisations such as Which? might profile courses and institutions helping students and families to make these life-changing decisions. Accommodation costs, tuition charges, destinations of students six-months after completing their course and salary after graduating is some of the detailed information that students should expect to be able to access.

With the new controversial fee structure in place for higher education at the start of the 2012 academic year (many providers are planning to charge the maximum annual fee of £9,000) the government wants to see students in the ‘driving seat’, demanding better value for money. The government suggests that it, “would be good practice for institutions to provide the sort of material that local councils offer to their residents, demonstrating what their council tax is being invested in.”

It is hoped that these better informed students will take their custom to the places offering good value for money. To this end the government has lifted the cap for universities on high achieving students, meaning that those students achieving AAB grades will be competed for amongst higher education institutions. Those offering competitive and attractive courses are likely to be allowed to expand and those high achieving students are more likely to receive an offer at their choice of university as more places are made available.

Relocating families also understand the benefit of flexible learning, so the news that the government plans to increase access to alternative providers of higher education should be of interest. Plans are in place to support a more diverse sector, with more opportunities for part-time or accelerated courses, sandwich courses, distance learning and higher-level vocational study. This includes some of the 60 overseas universities with bases in the UK offering their own degrees. A truly international higher education provider, with bases all over the world, may find it easier to include an international higher education experience for their students, as a standard part of their courses.

And, finally, most welcome to students, will be the news that the white paper also considers moving to a new system of Post-Qualification Applications (PQA), which would mean the main university application round would occur after exam results rather than before. This would mean that students who performed better than expected would be able to make clear and informed choices, rather than be stuck with the choices they made based on lower predicted grades.