British universities demand extra funding - but do they offer value for money?
New analysis compares earnings of graduates in UK and other countries as A-level grades chaos prompts admissions overload
UK universities are calling on the government to provide funding to help additional students secure places following the A-level grading fiasco.
The institutions have been flooded with calls from school leavers who now meet entry requirements following the government’s U-turn on the use of a controversial algorithm that downgraded almost 40% of A-level results in England.
What are the numbers?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the wake of angry protests outside Whitehall, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced on Monday that this year’s A-level results would be based on teachers’ predictions rather than those churned out by the automated system.
But around 55,000 pupils had already been rejected by their first-choice universities prior to the change in policy - which came just days after Williamson insisted there would be “no U-turn, no change”.
“Roughly 30,000 students accepted a place at their second-choice university, while an additional 80,000 are holding out for appeals,” according to the Daily Mail.
Many are now “desperately scrambling” to try to get into their preferred university, leaving the institutions facing a “logistical nightmare trying to reallocate thousands of places over the next week”, adds The Sun.
Williamson has also suspended a cap on student numbers for universities - effectively allowing institutions to accept unlimited numbers this year.
The Telegraph’s education editor Camilla Turner reports that vice-chancellors met universities minister Michelle Donelan last night in a bid to reach an agreement that will allow them to admit as many school leavers as possible.
According to a source, the universities have asked the government for extra financial help that would allow them to “scale up” places this year and next.
But do UK universities offer value for money?
Amid the demand for university places and upscaling of admissions, the worth of having a university degree in the UK has been called into question.
With an upper limit of £9,250 a year, tuitions fees paid by students in Britain are the highest in the 37-member Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an organisation of developed countries.
By contrast, Spain offers tuition for a bachelor’s degree for around €1,460 (£1,320) a year, while the cost in France and Germany is around €200 (£180) and €112 (£100) respectively, The Telegraph reports. In Norway, Denmark and Sweden, most students pay nothing.
However, a new analysis by student employer Stint of data from the OECD, World Bank and university league tables found that graduating in Britain does not boost subsequent earnings as much as in many other nations.
“Recent graduates in Britain typically earned 33% more than the national average, but those in America managed to boost their pay by 65%,” says the newspaper. And “university leavers in Spain took home as much as 53% more than the average salary”.
But while this international pay gap may be “pretty galling”, most graduates in the UK “will still be better off” than their peers who do not get a degree, according to Sarah Coles of stock broker Hargreaves Lansdown.
“The average male university leaver will make £130,000 more over their lifetime than a non-graduate, and average female university leaver £100,000,” she said.
In addition, the new analysis found that UK universities rank well for increasing employment prospects, with just under 90% of recent graduates in work, compared with 85% in America.
Institutions in Britain also scored highly for quality of education, coming second after the US, with Germany in third place.
Overall, the analysis “placed Britain eighth among the 37 countries for providing graduates with value for money”, The Telegraph reports.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Saint Paul de Vence: a paradise for art lovers
The Week Recommends The hilltop gem in the French Riviera where 20th century modernism flourished
By Alexandra Zagalsky Published
-
'People in general want workers to earn a decent living'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What might a Trump victory mean for the global economy?
Today's Big Question A second term in office for the 'America First' administration would send shockwaves far beyond the United States' shores
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Anti-Israel protests impact a Jewish-rooted university
The Explainer The president of Brandeis University resigned as a result of multiple factors, including his handling of recent protests
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Why are so many colleges closing?
Today's Big Question 'Enrollment cliffs' and higher tuition both play a role
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
UK universities: why higher education is in crisis
The Explainer A combination of spiralling costs and fewer international students is leaving universities in serious financial trouble
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Last updated
-
USC under fire for canceling valedictorian speech
Speed Read Citing safety concerns, the university canceled a pro-Palestinian student's speech
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
FBI arrests Cornell student for allegedly threatening to rape and murder Jews
Speed Read The junior engineering student reportedly confessed to posting the vile messages to a Greek life online forum
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can British universities keep up with global rivals?
Today's big question UK is losing ground to competitors, with China edging up the rankings
By Felicity Capon Published
-
Pros and cons of the International Baccalaureate
Pros and Cons IB offers a more holistic education and international outlook but puts specialists looking to study in the UK at a disadvantage
By The Week Staff Published
-
The class of ‘23: worst off school-leavers yet?
Talking Point The generation who lost critical months of schooling and weren’t able to sit their GCSEs now approaching a dysfunctional university
By The Week Staff Published