University courses that do not lead to good results, with many students leaving before completing, and having limited job prospects will be closely regulated.
The Prime Minister and Education Secretary have said that they will do more to protect students and taxpayers from bad degree courses. These courses have high numbers of students quitting, don’t lead to good jobs, and leave young people with low wages and lots of debt.
According to the plans, the Office for Students (OfS) will be told to reduce the number of students universities can accept onto courses that are not providing good results for students.
The UK has some of the best universities in the world, but some courses can leave students with a lot of debt, low income, and not many job opportunities. The government wants to make the system fairer for everyone, including taxpayers who have invested a lot of money in higher education. If graduates don’t earn much money, taxpayers are responsible for billions of pounds in unpaid tuition fees.
Almost 30% of graduates do not get high-skilled jobs or continue studying a year and three months after finishing their degree, according to data from the Office for Students. The Institute for Fiscal Studies believes that if one out of every five graduates had not gone to university, they would be in a better financial situation.
The government wants universities and colleges to provide high-quality education like schools do. They also want young people to have different options like going to university, getting a technical qualification, or doing an apprenticeship.
As part of today’s news, the government will lower the highest amount universities can charge for classroom-based foundation year courses to £5,760, which is currently £9,250.
These are extra years of study that help students get ready for certain degrees that have specific requirements or require specific knowledge, like medicine and veterinary sciences. However, studies have found that many individuals are being advised to enroll in a foundation year for certain subjects, such as business, even when it is not required.
The Office for Students will help students know more about each university course. They want to make it easier for students to see how good a course is and how much money they can make after. This will help students decide where and what to study. We want the Office for Students to make sure that courses that don’t lead to high earnings have stricter regulations.
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said:
” The UK is home to some of the best universities in the world and studying for a degree can be immensely rewarding.”
” But too many young people are being sold a false dream and end up doing a poor-quality course at the taxpayers’ expense that doesn’t offer the prospect of a decent job at the end of it.”
”That is why we are taking action to crack down on rip-off university courses while boosting skills training and apprenticeships provision.”
”This will help more young people to choose the path that is right to help them reach their potential and grow our economy.”
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:
” Students and taxpayers rightly expect value for money and a good return on the significant financial investment they make in higher education.”
”These new measures will crack down on higher education providers that continue to offer poor quality courses and send a clear signal that we will not allow students to be sold a false promise. Wherever they choose to study, it is vital students can gain the skills needed to get great jobs and succeed – supporting the Prime Minister’s priority to grow our economy.”
Philip Augar, chair of the independent Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, said:
” This is another strong signal for universities to control such recruitment as is not in students’ best interests and I hope the sector responds constructively.”
Edward Peck, Vice-Chancellor and President Nottingham Trent University and panel member of the Independent Review of Post-18 Education and Funding said:
” Following careful consideration and extensive consultation, the reform agenda for higher education being pursued by Government is consistent with the approach articulated in the Augar Review.”
”The alignment of the fee for Foundation Years with that of Access to HE for lower cost subjects is in the interests of students as is the proposition that the future refinement of the quality framework deployed by the Office for Students, including potential selective student number controls, should make subject appropriate use of graduate salaries.”
Baroness Alison Wolf, panel member of the Independent Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, said:
” I am delighted that the government has introduced reforms for foundation year courses, whose current meteoric growth is hard to justify educationally or in cost terms.”
” Aligning their fees explicitly with college-based access courses should also promote the greater alignment of further and higher education to which the government is, rightly, committed.”
The government has already taken decisive steps to make sure young people and adults can access more high-quality training opportunities. This includes rolling out new T Levels, Higher Technical Qualifications, establishing a network of 21 Institutes of Technology and working with employers of all sizes to create more apprenticeships in a wider range of exciting roles. Plans to expand UCAS to allow students to apply for apprenticeships alongside traditional degrees have also been announced so thousands more young people can benefit from a wider choice of high-quality options.
Alongside the measures announced today to boost the quality of higher education, the government is going further still to support people and employers to take advantage of the wide range of free training options available to them, helping to fill skills gaps, get people into work and support the Prime Minister’s priority of growing the economy.
This includes launching a new digital platform from the autumn where people and employers can search for everything from apprenticeships and T Levels to Skills Bootcamps and essential skills courses – all in one place. The government is also making it easier for employers to take on apprentices. This includes by cutting the steps needed to register to take on an apprentice by a third and updating 100 apprenticeships in sectors such as construction and healthcare so they reflect the latest technological advancements and so they work better for employers and apprentices.
Anthony Impey, Chief Executive of Be The Business, said:
” Small businesses are run by some of the country’s most impressive and resilient people, but they are time poor and lack the resources of their peers in much larger companies. So these changes will make a real difference in opening up apprenticeships at a time when small businesses are looking for all the help they can get to boost their productivity.”
FD Works, Top 50 SME apprentice employer and accountancy firm based in Bristol said:
” At FD Works, we believe that the power of apprentices is unmatched. The passion and perspective they bring have been a huge part of our ongoing success, but as a small business, our time is incredibly valuable. The investment far outweighs the cost already, but the Department for Education is continuously improving the system with us in mind, which is clear in this latest update.”
” As an innovative company, we’re really excited to see changes happening that will help us move quicker, share more opportunities, and empower even more apprentices to find a career they love.”
Jane Gratton, Head of People Policy, British Chambers of Commerce said:
”Apprenticeships are key to boosting technical skills in the workforce and helping firms tackle skills shortages. However, many firms with great apprenticeship opportunities have found the process difficult. So it’s good to see the Government taking steps in the right direction to reduce the complexity and excess bureaucracy in the apprenticeship system.”
” We also need more candidates to choose the apprenticeship route to employment and so we welcome initiatives that raise awareness and help match people to the great jobs and training available in local business communities throughout the country.”