Students are being ‘ripped off’ by a tuition fees system that encourages ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees, a new report has said.
Student loans should be overhauled to encourage universities to offer degrees that help their students land better-paid jobs when they leave – instead of ‘subsidising’ creative arts degrees.
According to the Centre for Policy Studies’ (CPS) report, universities are being accused of focusing on increasing student numbers rather than improving quality degrees.
This report suggests that universities be able to give out student loans directly, and not the Government through cash lent from Whitehall.
After their education, they would pay back their loans to universities.
CPS is adamant that the new changes will push universities to concentrate on engineering, science and mathematics (STEM), courses that pay students better once they have gotten a job.
Students are being ‘ripped off’ by a tuition fees system that encourages ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees, a new report has said
In the past, less rigorous subjects that are less relevant to the labour market have been branded ‘Mickey Mouse’ courses
It would let funding be ‘redirected from bad courses at bad universities to supporting high-cost courses in medicine or the STEM subjects’, according to the CPS.
In the past, less rigorous subjects that are less relevant to the labour market have been branded ‘Mickey Mouse’ courses.
Some universities might choose to substitute some of their degrees with online or shorter courses that are cheaper.
Typical student debt now stands at £45,000 in England – but 54 per cent of the value of student loans is written off. These moves could save the Treasury as much as £7 billion since more students would be able to earn enough to repay their loans, the think-tank claims.
The report also says that ‘too many courses are not delivering for students, or for the country. We now spend more subsidising creative arts than engineering’.
CPS director Robert Colvile said: ‘We must find ways to incentivise universities to do the best for their students, rather than for themselves.
‘These changes will make the system self-funding and encourage more students to take up courses that mean both the individuals – and the country – will become better off in the future.’
He added: ‘As well as adding to the workforce of engineers, scientists and doctors, it will save the Treasury billions of pounds that can then be reinvested into the education system of the future.’