What do we think the future holds?

[balzamico]

I know none of us has a crystal ball but as a parent of one child about to graduate and another about to go to uni, I really feel like the whole system is on the cusp of dramatic change. So many kids accumulating huge debts and unable to secure employment after graduation, unis going bust, parents waking up to the fact that significant financial support is required from most parents and that what they appear to get for the huge cost is low in terms of contact time, term length etc.
I just watched an instagram reel predicting that the UK will lose significant numbers of students to Germany, Netherlands and Ireland over the next few years and already, many less international students are coming to the UK to study.
I just wonder where it’s all going?
Going to uni was life changing for me so I am an advocate of it for most students but at the same time many degrees and experiences are not enhancing the lives of those who take them.

Not to mention the fact that so few students will ever pay off their debt so the cost to the system is also significant

Ooh I’m not sure about your comment regarding many degrees not being life enhancing. From what I understand, those with university degrees do, on average, have better outcomes in numerous areas of life.

Did the Instagram reel give a reason why many UK students are going to Europe?

I would imagine if that happens UK universities will be recruiting abroad even more. We already have many Chinese students here.

I agree. I think universities will eventually revert back to centres of scholarly pursuit and / or a luxury that only the upper classes / wealthy will utilise. The oldest Universities have existed for hundreds of years (in some cases 1000+ years), but it’s only in the last 30-40 years or so that it’s been seen as a rite of passage for the majority of young people and a means of securing better job prospects in a chosen field. I do think that’s ending and will continue to be decimated by AI. I suspect the majority of newer or less academic universities will close. I imagine oxbridge will survive for those that truly value academia and scholarly pursuits.

I think you may be right @BridgetJonesDaiquiri (love the name)

I still have a nosey on the WIWIKAU Facebook page as DD is a post grad student, and read regularly of courses being pulled. So many students have had the rug pulled from under their feet now.

But more people are going to uni than before in Ireland, Germany etc.

Countries should want an educated population.

I think that degrees that support things like medicine, engineering etc will always be financially "worth doing". In a similar industry that i work in, you just wouldnt be employed without a good STEM degree.
I am a massive advocate too for university experience and degrees, as long as you know that the job/field you would like needs one. Also liked the sound of degree apprenticeships for our kids generation! However heard of several students/employees being left in the lurch uf company starts to struggle, so perhaps not as good as I'd thought.

International student numbers dropped because of harsher visa requirements. It's a shortsighted policy decision that was only taken to fudge immigration figures. It was a massive blow to the HE sector because UK student fees don't cover the cost of delivering degrees. This is supplemented by international students who pay significantly more. As a result, budgets are being squeezed, courses are being cut, and spending on resources like library assets is being reduced. The UK HE sector still has competitive advantages in the global market but government immigration policies have hobbled its ability to compete. In the longer term, being unable to invest enough in delivery will also put pressure on the UK's reputation for high standards at university level.

I worry for my ds and wish he’d taken medicine (has its problems too) or an engineering degree. He’s doing a single science degree at a top university and is very clever but doesn’t have any work experience yet other than tutoring. I feel sorry for him as he was heavily encouraged into uni and told to take what he enjoyed and is working incredibly hard but the future looks a bit bleak. The traditional jobs these academic young people went into are disappearing - entry level finance and law and are hugely competitive. He’s dyslexic and fairly shy so struggles to get through the AI interviews. I am worried as we don’t have the connections or finances to support him indefinitely.

I’m also noticing a big divide between those of my age who are receiving large inheritances now and can afford to buy their children properties outright . Their children can afford to work for free or take less ‘useful’, for want of a better word, degrees. Or hobby type degrees. They can also pay fees and maintenance upfront so their kids come out with no debt. The poorer kids doing bog standard degrees are going to find things difficult.

There are plenty of things humans need which AI can't provide. But a lot of the service industry which employs so many can be replaced by AI. So we need to look around us and see what human centred things need doing:

Farming. Armed Forces. Physical ed teaching (sailing instructor, kayak etc), nursing and some medicine.

We also need to factor in that we are social and need each other. I'm a bookkeeper and hear repeatedly that AI is coming for my job, but the people I work for are humanitarian and human centred and they want people who care about the pennies, not just someone who can input data.

It is worrying, I have two teens, but look out for paths which can't be disrupted by machines, and don't think a degree is what is needed.

Yes, I'm interested to see what will happen. We are getting to the point where quite a lot of kids from 'university going' families are going 'I'd rather not go to university, TBH' and parents are going 'You know what, that's fine' whereas people like them a generation ago would have been horrified at their kids not attending uni. I think we don't need loads of graduates and more jobs should accept non-grads.

Our oldest is going to uni this year - they will take the loan for tuition fees but we will pay for living costs so they don't carry it all. They want to go, we want them to go, not even so much for the course, but the experience of uni, living away from home. They may go to uni in London, where we live, but we and they want them to live away as that would be missing the point otherwise, plus it's pretty much the opposite side of London to us.

Youngest might not make it to uni - has ADHD and is bright and wants to go, but it just might not work for him and as such I am glad that not going to uni is becoming more normalised among our peers.

Dd and I were discussing this last night. She’s going to uni in September to do engineering and has been thinking about how things might change job wise by the time she graduates. One thing we were discussing is that a lot of her friends are going to study subjects like law, business, psychology. All are eligible for contextual offers so are hoping that their CCC predicted grades will get them into their first choice universities. It’s great that everyone has this opportunity to go to university but I can’t help thinking what will happen after graduation. These kids are bright, but there are 30 kids to a class so very different learning experience to other students around the country. It doesn’t feel like a level playing field.

Recently someone was trying to recruit me to teach on a module for MRes students. All my thoughts were about how do we get the students to actually learn and increase skills, rather than them expecting to get LLMs to do all the work for them and then they would learn almost nothing. I hit angry emoji every time so naturally Facebook feeds me more and more ads trying to sell services to Uni students to write their essays so they don't have to.

What I'm talking about is to me the greatest challenge to HE and new graduates, how to help students and new job starters actually learn useful skills.

I’ve got two graduates and one going to uni this year . Eldest is an mfl teacher. She was the last year to get her Erasmus grant before they stopped them and she loved it. Said she would have loved to do her whole undergrad in Spain or Italy . She found that contact hours were higher , smaller cohorts , lecturers much more involved with students and overall experience much more enjoyable. She did her undergrad at a rg uni then did her pgce at a post 92 uni and loved it much more than her rg experience. She’s always wanted to be a teacher so really enjoyed her pgce year so that may be the reason why even though it was hard work. She also did her tesol in Spain ( gap year between undergrad and pgce to have something else to fall back on ) Dd2 has an undergrad in archaeology and history rg uni and a postgrad in sustainable heritage management in the same uni , and is a heritage officer for a trust . However she joined a company working with trusts after her postgrad and has done several step exams , and has taken two years to find a job in the field she studied for . She has her step exams too to falll back on if she needs to in future and the company she worked for would take her back in a heartbeat.
it is hard work after uni . They had a lot of work experience, dd1 worked all her summers in a programme for children with sen , she also gave Spanish lessons, dd2 found a lot of work experience during her masters and also helped one of her tutors with their research and she volunteered every summer with different digs and museums since she was 14.
Youngest is a little bit different , she has adhd . Works very hard , is very creative . Her favourite subject is art. She wants to do media production at ljmu . Not sure what the future will hold for her. She wanted to do a creative degree . Looked at graphic design,, motion graphics, post production and vfx and several others . I wanted her to do an art foundation but she refused , just so she could get her ideas in order as I’m not sure she has thought everything through properly. Visited Salford , Leeds,uni and Leeds Beckett, Manchester met , York , Sheffield Hallam , NTU ,Northumbria, Loughborough and ljmu . We made the most of visiting unis whenever we visited friends or went for a concert ( not all purposely visited to go see the unis ). She just clicked with the course at ljmu and despite being predicted AAB has decided to go for it . I have worried about her choice of uni and course and not having clear plans after as well as not needing that degree for a particular job . She had offers from Leeds annd Loughborough but she loved the ethos of the course at ljmu . She’s very idealistic . And we’ve discussed debt etc. her loan will cover accomodation and we shall be helping her out with about £2500- 3000 per year . She will cover the rest with summer work , Christmas and but present money etc However we have always let ours make their own decisions, dd2 choice was a risk and yet she want for it and is happy with her choice. I’m hoping for a good uni experience and then who knows where life will take her. Tbh I’m a bit nervous for her. But I need her to follow her own gut . This degree was never on her radar until she visited and she’s been excited for it since . The world is changing so much not sure what the best advice is for any yp today .

I doubt EU universities will scoop up too many UK kids. In my experience Germany and Netherlands are a brutal, overcrowded, pass/fail university system with little to no pastoral care. Ireland has over 50% of DC going to third level, but for the vast majority there is no student accommodation and many are commuting for hours, sleeping in cars or staying at home.