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‘Dumbed down’ university courses unfair to students, says minister

Michelle Donelan said students had been let down by attempts to increase graduate numbers - Will Wintercross
Michelle Donelan said students had been let down by attempts to increase graduate numbers - Will Wintercross

Universities have been attacked for “dumbing down” courses, with the higher education minister saying they are taking advantage of young people.

Michelle Donelan said universities were recruiting school leavers on to courses that did nothing to improve their life chances or help them achieve their career aspirations.

Speaking on the National Education Opportunities Network, she said young people had been let down by New Labour’s drive to increase graduate numbers.

She said: “Since 2004 there has been too much focus on getting students through the door and not enough on how many drop out or go on to graduate jobs. Too many have been misled by the expansion of popular-sounding courses with no real demand from the labour market.

“Frankly, our young people have been taken advantage of, particularly those without a family history of going to university.”

She said some students were making an investment that would not pay off, since their degree would not improve career prospects or earnings potential.

Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies last year found that arts graduates cost the taxpayer £35,000 each. Degrees in creative arts subjects – including music, drama, fine art and design studies – were the most costly to the taxpayer as so few graduates earned enough money to pay back their student loans in full.

The Government spends £9 billion annually on higher education, and more than £1 billion goes on creative arts, with three quarters of the total amount spent on loans covered by the taxpayer. Ms Donelan also claimed that too many universities had “felt pressured to dumb down” courses either when admitting students or via grade inflation. She said this “has to stop”.

Universities have been repeatedly warned about grade inflation, with around 80 per cent of students now awarded a first or upper second degree, double the percentage that gained them a decade ago.

Ministers had previously praised the use of “contextual offers” where universities offered students from disadvantaged backgrounds places despite them having lower A-level grades than their wealthier peers. Ms Donelan warned: “We don’t help disadvantaged students by levelling down – we help by levelling up.”

However, Dr Jo Grady, the general secretary of the University and College Union, which represents lecturers, said the minister appeared to be “trying to turn some students off university” by implying it was expensive and offered substandard education. She said the Government’s “obsession” with graduate earnings as a measure of success suggested “ignorance about the real value of education”.

Dr Grady added: “The Conservatives are responsible for increasing tuition fee debt and letting the private sector squeeze more and more money out of higher education.

“The Government continues to attempt to pick artificial ‘winners’ in the market it has created, denigrating certain courses and the institutions that offer them without any evidence for doing so.”

Chris Hale, the director of policy at Universities UK, said vice-chancellors were committed to protecting the “world-leading” reputation of British higher education institutions.

“Universities must be accountable for ensuring value for students and respond effectively where there are legitimate challenges around the value of some degrees,” he said.

“Ongoing work includes ensuring the fairness of the admissions process, being more transparent in how fees and other funding sources are spent and committing to ending grade inflation.”