Making Universities Affordable

Some thoughts on university costs as I simultaneously curse the costs for our girls there at the moment, and thank our stars they didn't start two years later. A good Menopausal Man rant here would bemoan the loss of free university provision from my youth, along with devaluation of grades, dumbed down courses, pointless degrees, and allowing the great unwashed to turn university life from a privilege (meant as a positive comment on the responsibilities gained by the government's investment in you) to a necessity (why do you need a degree to enter a vocational career such as nursing, farming, engineering, etc., or to become a call centre agent?).

But I will resist that temptation and share some thoughts that have appeared in our (still free and uncowed) press this week.

The Schumpeter column in this week's Economist (http://www.economist.com/node/18926009) looks at cutting the cost of university education. It mainly deals with the US, but the ideas are applicable in the UK too. Two main strands are:

1. Separate teaching and research and pay for them separately: students should pay for teaching, and research councils and businesses should pay for research.
2. Cut costs of teaching through normal efficiency means - larger classes, consolidation of departments, pruning unpopular/unsuccessful courses.

Why universities feel that they should be spared the bracing wind of the current economy is beyond me. They need to face up to not only the current austerity regime, but increased competition from international institutions wishing to pinch their business. However, I do think limiting foreign student numbers is bonkers. As long as we keep teaching in English...

The other comment I noted was made in the Times "University Tuition Fees Are A Bargain" that castigated liberal agitators for moaning about getting students to pay for their own degrees post graduation. )By the way, please don't confusing my cursing above for moaning. I am just being selfish about us having to pay, rather than complaining that we should.) Again this was a two point article. Firstly, does it make moral or economic sense to ask lower paid school leavers to subsidise the increasing affluence of the graduates? That was a rhetoric question by the way. Secondly, the student loan system is remarkably generous in the payment terms, and only just stops short of being a full graduate tax. Yes, there is a large debt but it is not really treated as such against your credit rating.

So, in my best Four Yorkshiremen style, there you are.