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Are all university degrees of equal value? The answer has always been ‘no’, with some leading to more lucrative careers and others being of greater academic value, compared with certain subjects or qualifications issued from institutions with poorer research records.
Yet has this divide become greater in recent years? Do students get value for money in terms of the debt they are typically accumulating? The Prime Minister of the U.K., Rishi Sunak, has made a statement committing to cracking down on what he refers to as ‘rip off university degrees’.
This comes after it was revealed 30 per cent of graduates do not progress into highly skilled jobs or further study on completion of their degrees (a perspective on education firmly in the tradition of human capital).
The Conservative Party Leader’s criticism of some universities follows comments made by the owner of Search Engine Marketing agency ROAR Digital Marketing, Michael Knowles, a former lecturer and Google Skills Trainer who released a statement a couple of weeks ago warning that university degrees were in danger of becoming completely worthless.
Updating his statement, Knowles explains: “Just a matter of weeks ago, I released a press statement claiming that university degrees were in danger of becoming worthless, prompted by the news that global giants such as Kellogg’s, Google and General Motors were removing degree requirements for most jobs.”
Turning his attention to colleges, Knowles states: “The Prime Minister’s statement about ‘rip off degrees’ has backed these claims up and is a huge wake up call for universities who have been short-changing their students for far too long.”
One of the reasons, Knowles explains, is a lack of topicality: “It used to frustrate me to witness students being under served because their course material was so outdated and they were basically leaving university completely out of touch with the realities of their chosen industry.”
Instead Knowles speaks of faster ways of learning: “In such a fast moving industry as digital marketing, many learnings can be out of date within three years so for universities to be teaching theory which is sometimes 10 years old shows how badly let down they were.”
Knowles adds: “It is clear for all to see that action is needed from central Government to better fund and support universities to prevent degrees becoming completely devalued, so let’s hope Mr Sunak is true to his word and follows through on his commitments for the benefit of our future talent pool.”
Sunak is seeking to limit the number of students on university courses that have high dropout rates or do not lead to good jobs. Instead, the government is planning to direct funds into improving access to apprenticeships, T Levels and skills bootcamps. Knowles notes these are as often cheaper and more successful routes to better paid jobs.
Knowles concludes: “There are various other excellent routes into employment, such as apprenticeships, so I am fully aware that a university degree isn’t the only way for young people to get a great job. But degrees need to represent good value for the extremely high tuition fees students are now required to pay.”
The post Sunak: Is it time to stop supporting poor quality degrees? appeared first on Digital Journal.
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