It’s not all about the money

This seems appropriate to share after yesterday’s post about late capitalism. Last year, the Augar report on university funding was published, which was roundly criticised at the time.

Universities condemn ‘catastrophic’ plan to link fees to graduate pay – The Guardian
Dr Jason Scott-Warren, a lecturer in English at Cambridge University, says: “The idea of measuring the success of degrees by graduate earnings is despicable and we can only hope that future governments will abandon this market logic.”

It seems that concept of linking value of education to earnings is spreading to other areas. Anything that mentions Ofsted is usually trouble.

Alarm at Ofsted-style plan to rank universities by graduate earnings – The Guardian
In November the Conservative manifesto set off alarm bells in universities by promising to tackle “low-quality courses”. Now senior academics close to Westminster say the government is pressing on with this in a plan that could replicate the four Ofsted categories used for schools, flagging up university courses the government considers inadequate. […]

Controversially, graduate earnings are expected to be the bar by which the government will judge courses. Higher education experts warn this would damage the arts and humanities, where starting salaries are typically much lower than in disciplines such as medicine or law. […]

Prof Alec Cameron, vice-chancellor of Aston university, in Birmingham, says: “Salary is evidence of things, including where you live, what sector you’re in, and what sort of job you are pursuing. We should push back against the idea that a good salary is an adequate measure of how much a job matters to society.”

How can anyone think this is a good idea?

Author: Terry Madeley

Works with student data and enjoys reading about art, data, education and technology. View all posts by Terry Madeley