If you were a British citizen at a UK university a quarter of a century ago, you would have paid no tuition fees for your first degree. But as a higher percentage of the population were enrolling in university, this was not a situation that could endure. As a consequence of these constraints, priorities were re-examined, and the Government decided graduates must contribute to the cost of their education. University fees would now be borne by the student not the taxpayer. Tuition fees were capped at £3,000pa but in 2012 this is set for a 300% increase. Though it was claimed that that only the most sought-after courses would attract a £9,000 fee, many more colleges than expected have decided to raise fees to the new ceiling. This has been necessitated by having had their own government grant cut.

Taking away a chunk of their funding whilst permitting them to raised fees was only going have one result: greater student debt, since university governors quite naturally resisted the urge to cull colleagues. The massive hike in fees will have an effect beyond the claim that it will make university a place only the rich can afford. How people study, where they study and their overall aims and expectations will change too.

Among the elite institutions it will be largely business as usual. Passing through such places is seen as being a passport to more or less guaranteed success. Whatever the cost, it will be viewed as ‘worth it’ and the clamour to enter will remain. Lower down the scale however, there is bound to be an important and far-reaching re-calibration of the market for university education, which will have a number of consequences. There may be a long-term effect on the size of the sector but there is also sure to be an effect on the nature of its provision and the structure it takes.

Initially a new pragmatism is likely to develop among students, if they are treated as customers. They will need to be more fully assured of the value of what they’re purchasing. Is this course going to equip me with the skills and knowledge needed to pay it?’ Will the benefits outweigh the sacrifice involved in studying?’ ‘Will the benefits I derive make the debt a burden worth taking on?’ Vocational and business courses will see applications rise as real-world relevance is foregrounded.

With living costs on the rise and the job market stagnant, customers will look to study without losing the income from working. Many will decide to work first and save money prior to study, or maybe study part-time. HND courses for instance, which are able to be upgraded into a degree with further study, may be seen as the smart option.

Many such courses can also be taken online and this type of study, which has the added advantage of being significantly cheaper, will increasingly appeal to a new ‘cherry-picking’ student . Instead of doing all their education during their youth, when students often fail, academically, to do themselves justice, people will begin to dip in and out of education, with online courses becoming the dominant mode of study.

The student of the future will be cost-savvy, putting flexibility and usefulness over tradition. How universities respond to these changing attitudes will dictate whether they maintain their strength or are usurped by new, fast-moving competitors. Now distance learning courses are certain to answer the needs of many.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.