A shrinking unit of resource for undergraduate teaching, and the erosion of cross-subsidy must inevitably mean students are having a worse quality experience. Or does it? As once again the question is put about how to define and assess quality in higher education, is there an alternative to a thinned-out, pared back version of a traditional learning experience? Students are changing; they have more complicated and diverse needs and different expectations – there’s no reason to believe that a classic experience is what is most desirable. But what are the alternatives – and can the sector afford them? Our panel will rise to the task of working it out.