Students Respond to Lord Browne's Proposals

Further to the publication of Lord Browne's report last week, there has been a lot of reflection on how this will impact upon future students' higher education choices. We have deliberately kept a low profile on this matter for the time being because the implications are far wider than increasing the likelihood of Brits going abroad.

The Student Room website has just published a survey of 1300 students (it is unclear how many of these students are still to enter university) and their assessment of Lord Browne's recommendations. While it is clear that the Lib Dems won't be winning many friends amongst the young, there are some other results which corroborate what we have been hearing from other sources.

73% of all students will look abroad when thinking about their higher education choices. Admittedly, for many English students abroad seems to mean Scotland but there are signs that a wide range of countries from USA to Netherlands could be about to benefit from increasing applications from British students.

We will see whether this materialises. However, it is clearer than ever that schools must offer advice about international higher education as one of the range of options open to their students.

Lord Browne's University Funding Review Published Today

What does the tuition fee review mean for British students?

12th October 2010

Today Lord Browne's report in to university funding has been published.

There had been much speculation in to the precise recommendations he would make but there was never any doubt that higher education would become more expensive for British students.

It is too early to know when any changes to tuition fees will be made, not least because any change still has to be voted into law. At the moment, these are only recommendations. However, there has been so much discussion about graduate taxes, upper limits on fees etc in recent months that it seems fairly certain the government was trying to prepare the ground for the conclusions it was expecting. So while Lib Dem MPs might have some soul searching to do, it seems fairly clear that Lord Browne's recommendations will be accepted in their entirety. After all, it was the previous Labour government that set in motion this review (and postponed its reporting date until after the election because it knew the recommendations could only be unpalatable to many people).

So, there are still a number of unanswered questions regarding the change in tuition fees:

• When will they be introduced? The consensus seems to be from 2012 but we have never heard anyone say it will not be from 2011. The funding crisis in university education is about to get a lot worse with the Comprehensive Spending Review later this month so we imagine that many universities will be pushing for higher fees to be introduced as soon as possible.
  
• Will there be any guarantees offered by universities? If students are being asked to invest in their higher education on the basis of improved employment prospects will they have any recourse if these prospects fail to materialise, or if they have been misled by a university's claims. Will we see the introduction of a "gainful employment rule" such as the one under discussion in the USA.
• Will the increased revenue from tuition fees be ringfenced for tuition? Will students' contribution to university funding be invested in the areas where they benefit directly or will it be used to subsidise research activity?
  

We have always argued that British students should go abroad for some or all of their undergraduate education for a variety of positive reasons. However, it now appears as if this will be a necessity for many people.

The introduction of higher fees will herald a new range of financial support for the least well-off in society. The most well-off clearly have the least to fear from increased interest rates on student loans as they are far less likely to need them. It is those students caught in the middle who are likely to find themselves squeezed the most. Lord Browne's report does offer assurances to students who will not go on to earn vast sums in their careers. The threshold under which students do not pay back their loans will rise as part of his recommendations. However, debt is still debt and there will be no escaping it particularly as students look to take on mortgages in the future. Student loans will no longer even have the attraction of being a cheap form of borrowing.

In the last week, following articles in The Observer and in an Independent supplement, we have experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of visitors to our site. We believe that vast numbers of the "squeezed middle" are looking to avoid the uncertainties of English higher education. Student debt is not a necessity; it is possible to gain a degree abroad without taking out huge loans. While it will never be possible to live free of financial obligations for three or four years, there is no reason why you should spend decades paying for them. We will be adding more opportunities of this nature to our site over the coming weeks.

What to do with the 150,000 students who missed out?

Or rather, what can the estimated 150,000 students who missed out at university do? We addressed in an earlier post the inadequacy of government advice suggesting setting up a business or taking an unplanned gap year. A new publication through the Independent, Horizons 2010, has a few other suggestions. Naturally it includes our perspective on international higher education options but as a whole it is a good guide to some of the more constructive options out there.

Horizons 2010 has been published as an ezine, which looks great but does mean it is hard to link to. You will have to flick through the virtual pages to page 18 to find our contribution but the whole publication is worth a look.