Eric Thomas, the UUK president and University of Bristol vice-chancellor, will lead the review, to report in the autumn of this year.

A report by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, Higher Education in England: Impact of the 2012 Reforms, published today, shows that the number of part-time undergraduates and postgraduates entering higher education fell 26.6 per cent to 221,000 in 2012-13 (37 per cent down on 2010-11 levels).

Professor Thomas said: ¡°We have been concerned for some time about recruitment to part-time courses. It is particularly striking that enrolments to part-time courses have declined despite the recent extension of loans to part-time students.

¡°These figures show starkly that there is a serious issue, and we are determined to get to the bottom of it.

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¡°That is why Universities UK is pleased to have been asked by the minister for universities [David Willetts] to review the evidence on part-time study, and to make urgent practical recommendations on how this provision can be developed.

¡°Nearly one-third of students at undergraduate level are studying part-time, in some of the most important subjects for this country, such as nursing, education, social work, business and administration.

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¡°Part-time study in the UK has a very important role to play in meeting the needs of students, particularly mature students, and the UK¡¯s future skills agenda. It must also contribute towards improving social mobility.¡±

A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said in response to the Hefce report: ¡°Our world-class university sector has responded well to our reforms. There is a new focus on the quality of the student experience and the number of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds applying to university is at record levels.

¡°There are no financial barriers to higher education and according to the World Bank the system is exemplary. We need to monitor closely the changing demand for part-time, mature and postgraduate study, and will continue to do so.¡±

But Shabana Mahmood, Labour¡¯s shadow universities and science minister, said the Hefce report ¡°should give students and universities cause for concern¡±.

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On the fall in part-time students, she said it was ¡°imperative the government put in place a strategy to deal with these swings as such dramatic falls in part-time higher education could have a long-lasting and devastating impact on the UK¡¯s overall skills base¡±.

She added: ¡°If continued in future years this trend will pull the rug from underneath universities¡¯ essential role in delivering life-long learning and will severely limit opportunities for a higher education for countless thousands of people.¡±

john.morgan@tsleducation.com