Guest post from Education Secretary Gillian Keegan: “This week the Prime Minister and I announced important new measures to give parents and their children the clarity they crucially need about degree courses in the UK”

[NicolaDMumsnet]

Students in this country are spoilt for choice when it comes to world-class universities. Four of the world’s top ten universities are in England and 55 current or recent world leaders were educated at UK universities. We are second only to America as a favoured destination for international students to continue their studies, which is something we should all be really proud of.

The decisions young people make when they leave school can shape the rest of their lives – their friendships, their careers, how much they will earn or where they choose to live. I know this first hand. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t pursued a degree apprenticeship in a car factory straight from school.

This was the best option for me. It taught me what it means to operate in a workplace, about essential parts of industry like global supply chains and just-in-time manufacturing, and how to build relationships. It accelerated me into new roles, surpassing my peers, and enabled me to travel the world during a long international business career.

I want young people up and down the country to have this opportunity too. We must end this scenario where people are told you need to go to university to succeed, with no thought or consideration for why university might be right for the individual or what they should hope to get out of it.

It’s not fair to lead young people onto courses that are unlikely to lead to a good job and in the long run will only make people poorer - whether a student, parent, or taxpayer. We are concerned this is, in some cases, precisely what is happening.

There are still courses on offer that are leaving students saddled with debt, low earnings and faced with poor future job prospects - there are even examples of courses where earnings are less than £18,000 three years after graduation – that’s less than minimum wage for someone over 21.

Eighteen universities and colleges are already being investigated by the universities watchdog, the Office for Students, including a number of business and management courses that simply aren’t giving students the outcomes they deserve from higher education.

So, our government is acting now to stop that. This week the Prime Minister and I announced important new measures to give parents and their children the clarity they crucially need about degree courses in the UK, so they can make the best decisions about their futures.

We will ask the Office for Students to put limits on the courses that aren’t up to scratch. Alongside this, we are asking them for greater scrutiny of the earnings achieved after course completion to ensure our students get the best value for money.

Bearing down on poor quality courses also means addressing the growth of some one-year foundation courses which, evidence suggests, are not in the best interests of their students. Too often they amount to an additional year of debt for the individual because they are an easy source of income for universities. We don’t think this is right. So, we’ve reduced the maximum fees for foundation years in classroom-based subjects, down to £5,760, putting them in line with similar Further Education courses.

Lastly, we are making sure everyone knows about apprenticeships, including degree apprenticeships, T Levels and skills bootcamps, so we’ve created a one-stop-shop so students can see all training opportunities on offer in one place through a new online platform. And all apprenticeships will also be on UCAS from the Autumn so that when young people are thinking about their next steps, they are genuinely presented with all the brilliant opportunities available to them to reach their potential.

The Prime Minister and I know that education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet. It is right that we strive for the highest standards for all children to pursue their dreams and these reforms are an important step to achieve that.

Twitter: @GillianKeegan Website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

Currently there is a perception that many employers insist on a degree for jobs that do not need a degree, thus creating an urgency to go to university and do a degree, any degree. Do you have any plans to address this at employer level?

Can you confirm whether this announcement actually gives the OfS any new powers over what it is already mandated to do?

Do you have any plans to address the funding model for higher education? For example increasing the money paid to universities per student for some/all courses to enable a readjustment of academic pay?

Hello - thank you for this. The Office for Students (the independent regulator) looks at three things when considering whether courses meet its requirements: degree continuation, degree completion, and progression to high-skilled employment or further study within 15 months of graduating. It also considers contextual information about the university or college when making this decision. It is in no one’s interest for a student to take a degree that they won’t finish, or that isn’t likely to get them into some kind of professional employment or further study within 15 months of graduating.

Recruitment Limits aim to prevent the growth of low-quality courses by limiting the number of students who could be recruited to these courses.

Thank you. The OfS measures the proportion of students who progress onto high-skilled employment or further study, 15 months after graduation. High-skilled employment includes occupations classified as professional and managerial by the Office for National Statistics. This was established by the OfS following extensive consultation with the sector.

Hi there, thanks very much for this question. Far from reducing funding, we have increased overall funding for the further education sector throughout this Parliament with an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education in 2024-25 compared with 2021-22 – that’s the biggest increase in 16-19 funding in a decade. We recently announced a £185 million funding uplift in 2023-24 and £285 million in 2024-25 to drive forward skills delivery in the further education sector. This is in addition to the £125 million of funding we already announced for the financial year 2023-24 to ensure 16 to 19 year olds, regardless of where they live or their background, will continue to have access to the courses and qualifications they need to go on to successful and rewarding careers.

And alongside taking action on poor quality degrees, we are also supporting people and employers to take advantage of the wide range of training options available to them. This includes launching a new digital platform from the autumn where people and employers can search for everything from apprenticeships and T Levels to Skills Bootcamps and essential skills courses - all in one place.

Hello! This will be available from the Autumn, and will allow young people and employers to access everything from apprenticeships and T Levels to Skills Bootcamps and essential skills courses - all in one place.

Hello. Recruitment limits would be enforced using existing Office for Students' powers, but the Secretary of State will issue guidance to the OfS asking it to impose recruitment limits more consistently in relation to courses that do not meet the new, more robust requirements for student outcomes.

Thanks for this. The Office for Students regulates postgraduate courses in the same way as undergraduate courses, protecting students from low-value masters courses too.

"55 current or recent world leaders were educated at UK universities"

Given the state of the world currently, that's not a huge accolade.

Given that the UK has some of the highest ranking universities in the world do you plan to step in and adress the current strikes that are causing choas across the sector?

I don’t have figures to hand but was made redundant from an FE role at the end of 2013 due to huge losses of funding and in my county at least FE was decimated and has never truly recovered.

I teach in state secondary now and your reply sounds a lot like the rhetoric about funding that area when in real terms it’s worse than in 2009.

Will nhs bursaries return given those are ‘worthy’ degrees and we have shortages in so many nhs roles?

Graduates of vocational degrees (including creative arts degrees) are likely to enter occupations that are not classified by ONS as "professional" or "managerial." Is it a failure of a music degree to produce musicians?