Top universities are to be subjected to a fresh review of their admissions policies as ministers said they must do more to open their doors to students from under-privileged backgrounds.

Sir Martin Harris, head of the university admissions watchdog, will consider new targets for the most research-intensive universities aimed at improving access for poorer students.

The move, announced by Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, as he presented the Government’s ten-year plan for universities, is likely to anger vice-chancellors, who say they have worked hard to broaden their intakes of undergraduates.

Lord Mandelson did not specify which universities would be targeted by Sir Martin, director of the Office for Fair Access, referring only to “the most selective universities”.

But Government sources confirmed the focus would fall on the 16 English universities in the Russell Group of research-intensive institutions, which includes Oxford, Cambridge, the London School of Economics and University College London.

The watchdog will report by spring next year, just before the expected general election, which may heighten suspicion among universities that they are being put under pressure to justify the widely expected move to raise tuition fees significantly.

Lord Mandelson made only passing reference to the separate forthcoming review of the cap on variable tuition fees, which have risen only in line with inflation from their original ceiling of £3,000.

But his announcement of the Government’s new long-term expectations for higher education is seen as a way of forcing universities to do more in return for agreeing to their demands to lift the cap on tuition fees.

Universities will have to demonstrate that they are making a greater contribution to Britain’s economy, by giving priority to courses that match skills gaps — predominantly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

They will also be expected to show greater practical applications for research, by building stronger links with business and looking more closely at commercial spin-offs from their work.

Universities will be expected to become more consumer-friendly in the commitments and information they offer to students, who are likely to arrive with an increasing sense of entitlement if they pay much higher fees for courses. Many academics believe fees should rise to between £5,000 and £7,000 a year.

Lord Mandelson said that, while the quality of education provided by universities was generally good, it “needs to be higher”.

Drop-out rates — currently 13 per cent across all English universities — should be published for each course, along with teaching time and the earnings of graduates who qualified with a degree in each course, he said.

The Government’s aim that half of young people aged 18 to 30 should enter higher education will remain, even though only 43 per cent do so at present.

However, its terms will be broadened with an increasing emphasis on those studying part-time for work-based, shorter foundation degrees or studying at home, and for higher education level apprenticeships. The 50 per cent figure, originally to be reached by 2010, has also been diluted from a “target” to a “goal”.

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