Students hit out at the cost of a degree


Milkround News, 24 September 2009
Students hit out at the cost of a degree

Students have added their voice to criticism mounting towards tuition fees.Following the Confederation of British Industries’ claims the government should cut its support to students and debt levels set to hit £23,500 for this year’s freshers, Milkround.com asked its users for their views on the cost of a degree.More than 100 students replied and nearly two thirds argued degrees are not worth £23,500 of student debt. A near unanimous nine out of 10 students lashed out at the introduction of top-up fees, stating the potential cost of £5,000 per year was too expensive.One respondent said: "It all depends on how you spend your time at uni. If all you do is study, then your degree isn't worth it but if you get into extra-curricular activities like student politics then it definitely is worth it." Another added: "Most probably aren't [worth it]; the selection of a good course which is valued by employers is vital."However, students accept that as much as they’d rather not pay for a degree, it is vital to find work in today’s economic climate. Nearly two third feel a degree is crucial for starting a career and will do what they can to afford it.Some 63 percent vow to keep to a strict budget and 61 percent claim they will restrict nights out. Working part time is suited by 55 percent and 36 percent saved before university so they could afford the expenditure. The NUS slammed the CBI for suggesting students be given less support from the government to save on Higher Education spending. The student body has called for a Graduate Tax to replace tuition fees, which students paying money towards Higher Education based on their earnings. However, students are split 50/50 on the idea according to Milkround.com’s survey. Students do not think much of the way universities spend their cash: nearly three quarters say tuition fees aren’t spent well.A Milkround.com spokesman said: "The cost of Higher Education has been creeping up steadily since the government abolished grants, but they have taken a leap with top-up fees and it’s understandable that students are becoming increasingly concerned by how much debt they will find themselves in after three years of study. With the recession biting this year’s graduates hard as they struggle to find jobs, the sweetener of a high starting wage in a first graduate job is no longer considered a certainty. "While students can help themselves by doing all they can to work and study to offset costs, the majority are going to find themselves in considerable debt at the end of their course. Now more than ever it is vital for students to go some way to exploring employment opportunities when they are at university through internships and placements to add to their CV and build up contacts. This could be the difference between having a job prior to graduating or being jobless six months later. Students will be far more comfortable with a job to go to at the end of their studies: their friends who have done nothing to prepare themselves for the world of work may well kick themselves for not doing the same."

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Comments (3):
posted:
People seem to forget that the top-up fees are means tested, if you are well-off you have to pay, if you cannot afford it you don’t have to pay. Universities have plenty of hardship funds available so it isn’t that bad at all for those genuinely in need of affordable education.

It is pretty common in other countries for students to have part-time jobs whilst studying, anyone who thinks they have too little time to study and work here, especially if they are doing a ‘Mickey Mouse’ course could do with taking an extra module in ‘Time Management’ or ‘How to not be lazy’.

One way to solve this problem is to provide a discount in tuition fees for those doing a degree that will actually get them a job at the end of it such as Law, Engineering, Medicine etc. Those doing Politics, History, Geography etc should have to pay higher tuition fees since the demand for these degrees is a lot less. Hopefully this will encourage students to choose courses based on where the demand is in the job market thereby increasing the job prospects for graduates.

What is not good is for the Government to chase a meaningless target of getting half of all school leavers (if I remember correctly) to go through university just to say they have a ‘degree’ as all this will do is de-value the qualification and give people a lot of false expectations. Instead the government should be concentrating on getting more people qualified in vocational subjects that give people a chance to find a job.

There is nothing wrong with going to college/doing an apprenticeship and learning to become a skilled tradesperson (as long as the Government don’t totally destroy the manufacturing industry). Despite what we are constantly being told, not everyone can be a Chief; we need some Indians too…
Posted Over 1 year ago     report a concern
THUSITHA NUWAN T
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posted:
Im an international student. It is true that we pay thousands of Sterling pounds worth our own money (basically im paying nearly £57,000 including living cost for three years) to the universities and after three years will international studets get a good job?? i have my doubts. I believe that home students have same kind of problem in these tough times. I have talked to some of the senior students(international) and what they are saying is its difficult to get even an internalship in UK. So as an international student what im telling to those who come to study in UK, think twice before you come to UK for studies you end up with paying fortune and get nothing but a certificate. Im about to start my final year and i have some worries about getting a proper job only to practice what we studied only just for one or two years..thats a real shame..
Posted Over 1 year ago     report a concern
posted:
Surely this years freshers will be coming out with more than £23,500 debt considering that those of us who have just graduated who had the increased £3000 top up fees are out at more than that! Roughly £6000 for inlondon student loan each year, plus £3000 each year in tuition fees put us at £27000 not including the interest which in sept 08 was up at £70 per month on loans. As of yet I havent had a statement detailing my final debt that I owe but I believe starting graduates out in life with this amount of debt is damaging. Adding an extra £2000 per year on a standard 3 year course is actually adding another £6000 taking future graduates to around a £30,000 debt.
There are now students in secondary schools who have decided already that they are not even going to consider univerisity as an option because at the age of 14/15 they are concerned with starting life in debt, or working their way up in a company from scratch which gives them all the necessary experiences which employers are more and more frequently asking for which graduates do not have.
Should we be encouraging students at university to be working part time jobs along side their degrees? Do people actually understand just how much work is required to complete degrees to high standards? Especially as there is not only written work included but also practical group work which is to be done outside of taught classes. MAny students fail or have to retake modules because they are having to work 15-20 hours to be able to afford to study and this impacts on just how much time can be spent on their actual work which is the reason why they have gone to university in the first place!
I know that myself and my friends who all graduated this year are very concerned about our debts, and paying them off, ever getting back to a clean slate even wit people telling us to just forget they are there it adds a lot of unnecessary stress on thoughts of our future, so for it to even be considered right for new graduates to be getting into even larger debt is awful!! Not many families can afford to pay tuition fees for their children and to me it seems as though there is going to be a divide between who can afford and who can not afford to study into higher education. There should not be a feel of difference between people, everyone should be intitled to a higher education which is not going to cause financial stress or worry once it is completes.
Posted Over 1 year ago     report a concern
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