Month: May 2011

The Guardian advises new students

Yesterday, The Guardian released their university guide for 2012.

Cambridge came out on top this year, knocking Oxford into second after a six-year reign in pole position.

You can view the main league table, as well as look at course specific ratings. There is a potted lowdown on the main features and information for each university. There is even a league table for specialist institutions.

Worth noting is the range of useful articles The Guardian also published with the guide. Here are some of the pieces for hopeful students this year and next:

Looking Beyond Employability

I found this tucked away near the end of an article in the Independent on Sunday:

“Students should learn not how to win arguments but how to ask subversive questions of authority, assess evidence and find the truth. They should discover how to critique the paradigms within which others expect us to live.”

That may sound trouble-making. Revolutionary, even. But that would be missing the point.

The important thing to think of here is ‘critical thinking’. About having access to and understanding of the tools that will enable you to do things. What you subsequently decide to do is then up to you.

photo by Dr.Fitz

“I’ve been looking everywhere to find employability skills…” (photo by Dr.Fitz)

So how can you be expected to ‘find the truth’? What if it’s not that simple?

Good questions. Things are never that simple. But neither question should stop you seeking out truth and question what is in front of you.

Critical thinking and employability skills bear many similarities. Engineering consultancy, Atkins, has called for universities to help students develop their employability skills:

“When considering whether to go to university, students would be wise to research where skills shortages lie in the marketplace and do a degree which is more likely to lead to a job offer.”

This view may help students and employers service needs right now, but it doesn’t cover possible future needs. Many jobs will be available in a decade or two that aren’t currently in existence. The skills shortage in that respect is a complete unknown.

To really achieve at employability, you need to look past employability in isolation. So how can you move forward without feeling completely in the dark?

A joint NUS and CBI guide to employability skills has been released to help with that. “Working Towards Your Future” is a short guide for students to get an idea of the general qualities employers are looking for in a graduate.

Aaron Porter, NUS president, said:

“A greater understanding of employability will enable today’s students to develop themselves, make a contribution and fulfil their potential tomorrow.”

You aren’t treading along an educational production line. You are participating in higher education. While you should expect your university to have the right types of access and tools in place for you to succeed, you should also feel a personal responsibility by acting with your own future in mind.

That doesn’t mean you’re only at university to enhance your career. Perhaps, like myself, you went into higher education because you wanted to find out more about a subject. An inquisitive mind is all it takes and you can be hooked.

Higher education can lead to a successful future and it can open many doors, but the fact it can lead to those things does not make it the reason behind higher education. Think of your life as a journey of lifelong learning and your skillset can be used beyond the ’employability’ tag.

Nevertheless, it would be daft to ignore students who attend university in the hope of brighter career prospects. Employability skills shouldn’t be an afterthought, but an integral part of your overall learning. By truly furthering your thoughts, considering other views, researching complex situations, opening up your mind, and imagining possibilities while you study, your employability should improve hugely. No matter how you define ’employability’.

While none of this happens automatically, university is one place where a lot of this is at hand to reach out and grab. So when something isn’t working out satisfactorily, or even if it’s just slightly out of your reach, don’t just sit back and grumble. Ask questions, assess evidence, and find the truth!

EduLinks – Week ending 13 May 2011

Starting today, EduLinks is going to be a regular, weekly affair.

Part weekly round-up of HE news, part useful linkage, EduLinks will now be based on my Twitter output over the last 7 days.

Since I already strive to get great links out over Twitter in the hope they’ll be useful to you, it makes sense to bring EduLinks in line with that. Hope the format works for you.

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Fees concern and clearance sales

Universities Minister, David Willetts, has been making headlines this week. Times Higher Education first announced that Willetts was considering a quota-free recruitment of self-funding UK students. But once The Guardian reported on the possibility on Monday, there was a public outcry.

Willetts spoke on Radio 4, which only seemed to excite the story further. It gathered pace so quickly, that I wrote about the situation in my post ‘Upfront fees, perks for the rich, and the social mobility problem‘. The Daily Mash covered the story in a slightly different way, announcing, “It’s basically £36,000 for a hat”.

By the afternoon, the government had to put out a new response from Willetts, urging:

“There is no question of wealthy students being able to buy a place at university. Access to a university must be based on ability to learn not ability to pay.”

Sadly, all this panic took the focus away from the government’s new site for future students, Your Future. The site attempts to explain the new student fees system from September 2012. While some people have complained that there should be a clearer repayment calculator and greater stress on prices being nearer £9,000 than £6,000 for most students, the site is still a welcome addition.

Later in the week, The Independent interviewed Willetts. He mentioned the possibility of lower fees for places in clearing, which The Indy quickly dubbed ‘The great university clearance sale‘.

Gaining degrees and finding employment

University Alliance launched a new publication to highlight stories of empowered students. ‘More than just a degree‘ sets out to “refute notions of lazy students, unresponsive universities and unsatisfied employers”.

At the same time, McDonalds boss, Jill McDonald, suggested that not all school leavers should automatically opt to go to university. McDonald said, “The road many young people take today may not be the one we took in the past”. See Guardian and Standard reports for more.

The BBC, meanwhile, addresses the growing concern of ‘underemployment‘:

“Four years ago, there were 32% of university leavers in low-skilled jobs six months after graduating.

The study forecasts that this will rise to 42%, for graduates leaving this summer.”

Adding to the jobs concern, the state-funded Graduate Internship Scheme was closed.

Limiting student liability

For many reasons, not all students stay on at uni. Upon leaving, some students may have only been attending for a matter of days. However, they could have been liable to pay their full tuition fee for the year, before any student loan was liable to be paid.

Working with NUS, the government has agreed (subject to parliamentary approval) to restrict student liability for fees. While this may not impact upon large numbers of students, it is an important and welcome development.

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Upfront fees, perks for the rich, and the social mobility problem

Got cash? Feeling flush? Pay your money up front and enjoy the university YOU want to attend.

photo by alancleaver_2000

photo by alancleaver_2000

David Willetts, Minister for Universities & Science, is looking at proposals that allow rich students (or rich parents) to pay higher fees up front to attend university. These places would be ‘off quota’, so they would not change numbers going through standard channels of application.

But Willetts’ argument is facing a backlash from the outset. Willetts suggests that social mobility will improve because there will end up being more places available to students who cannot afford to pay straight up.

While the proposals have not yet been agreed and details are yet to be finalised, that hasn’t stopped negative opinion from emerging. Twitter has been awash with it this morning. By example, two major complaints of the idea are:

  1. Rich people will be able to choose the institution they wish to attend, thus making some universities more elitist;
  2. To cite social mobility is upsetting for many who simply see this move as an opportunity for rich people to buy a place while a standard student doesn’t have this guarantee.

Today’s report in The Guardian highlights the complexities and potential problems, but also the possible benefits from the new ideas under discussion.

There is no answer to what’s under discussion, because no detail has been agreed. On top of this, we’re already facing massive changes in terms of fees and funding both for students and for universities. This new proposal is yet another alteration that adds to the confusion. It’s almost impossible to find a solid base to work from to help higher education or students at the moment.

Entry requirements are set to be the same for those looking to pay more, yet there is still much chatter on Twitter of buying places without the grades. Willetts said on Radio 4 that this type of practice is not under proposal.

If entry grades are, therefore, set to be the same as standard places, what benefits would someone paying up front have?

  1. Practically guaranteed place to the institution you choose to pay for (because it’s not a place under quota);
  2. Money paid now means there is no need to think about loans and paying off in the future.

The first point is much more powerful than the second. Rather than worry about an oversubscribed institution, one payment after you get the grades is all you need to go where you want.

Yes, it’s a perk. Yes, entry is based on wealth (after grade requirements have been met). But that doesn’t mean it cannot be used positively. The detail needs to be careful so as not to create an elitist normality. Additionally, much of the cash should be redistributed to help less affluent applicants and the like. In no way should this be seen solely as a money-making exercise for institutions, even if institutions require more cash. Balancing the books this way would set a dangerous precedent.

Unfortunately, discussion has been limited this morning because of the angle given to the new proposals. In mixing advantages for rich people with improving social mobility, any chance of debate and constructive discussion over these proposals has been blown out of the water.

http://twitter.com/wesstreeting/statuses/67867820486180865

If, despite the almost immediate backlash, the government proposals become a reality, I imagine they will ditch the ‘social mobility’ justification. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re looking to move away from that angle already.

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UPDATE: When I mentioned a backlash, I wasn’t exaggerating.

In fact, such opposition meant the government had to rush out a statement on this matter. David Willetts said:

“We will only consider allowing off-quota places where it contributes to the coalition commitment to improve social mobility and increase fair access.

“There is no question of wealthy students being able to buy a place at university. Access to a university must be based on ability to learn not ability to pay.

“We have been discussing the idea of charitable donors and employers endowing additional places on a needs blind basis which will be subject for consultation in the higher education white paper.” [Source]

Wonkhe has also posted on the off-quota places issue and admitted, “May need to update later on as things move”.

It is a fast moving day. And It’s only midday at time of writing this! To put it into perspective, the final (amusing) thought can go to Thomas Graham:

http://twitter.com/thomasgraham/statuses/67908848303878144