England Running Out Of Student Places
Phil Willis, chairman of the Commons select committee covering higher education, says a cap on student places in England will result in thousands of teenagers going on the dole instead of continuing their education. Increased funding of student places is inadequate to keep track of the big increase in applications this year.
This seems to contradict the governments own policy of having 40% of all adults in England with a University education by 2020.
Studying Through The Credit Crunch
Durham University
Durham University is offering £2000 to its graduates to stay on and conduct research rather than trying for a first job in the current gloomy economic climate. As graduate recruiters cut their targets by nearly 50%, the university is offering more opportunites for graduates in the academic sector. 102 scholarships are being offered this year to encourage students to take up a course in Durham’s “taught Masters” programme. At £2000 per head, the cost will be met out of the university’s own surpluses.
While the traditional jobs for high-flyers in the city continue to evaporate, the steadier world of academia seems to continue on a firmer financial footing. More from Durham University…
Credit Crunch May Bring Cap On University Places
Universities in England and Wales are warning that a funding shortfall will mean a freeze on extra places. The statement came in response to a letter from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, saying “at this stage” there will be no allocations of extra places until 2011. More from the BBC…
However, there are no plans to limit access to courses offered by the NCS College and more are in the pipeline.
Knowledge Economy beats Learning Society
Academics are becoming worried that government policies that emphasize learning as a route to employment are undermining the ethos of our universities and colleges. Vice-chancellors throughout England and Wales report that students are taking courses which they hate in order to enter high-paid work on graduation and that fewer and fewer students are taking subjects for the love of them. A similar story is revealed in Scotland despite the absence of tuition fees.
More in the Education Guardian.
