The Debate: Is it still worth getting a university degree?

Mar 18 2008 by Laura Sharpe, Liverpool Daily Post

Laura Sharpe  hears academics wondering if enough is enough

FIGURES revealed by the Daily Post last week show that, on some courses at universities in the region, more than four-fifths of students do not go into jobs after graduation which require a degree.

One senior city academic warned the job market was failing to create enough graduate-level jobs to meet the rising number of people getting a degree.

All of the area’s universities are now urging students to take part in extra activities to boost their CVs, as the jobs market becomes more crowded than ever with more graduates.

According to official higher education statistics, 35% of first-degree students graduating from the University of Liverpool, 39% from John Moores University, 53% from Liverpool Hope University and 43% from Edge Hill, with campuses in Liverpool and Ormskirk, went into non-graduate level employment.

Mark Featherstone-Whitty, founder of Liverpool fame school Lipa, called for teachers to present other higher education options such as the Open University.

He said: "We’ve got a problem with students being told from an early age that going to university is the only way to go. The Government is pushing for 50% of students to go to university, but we have to ask if that’s too much.

"With tuition fees as they are, and likely to rise, schools need to make sure students are aware of other options, such as Open University degrees."

"Many degrees can be done by that sort of study, without incurring the debt which goes with living at university, and it allows students to pick up the life experience and work at the same time, too.

A National Union of Students spokesman said students were becoming increasingly worried about debts and employment.

But the National Union of Teachers said graduates earn up to 77% more than non-graduates in the long term.

So this week we ask: Is it still worth getting a university degree?

laurasharpe@dailypost.co.uk

YES: The Case for - Graduates often put a lot back into our society

by Profesor Bill Chambers, Pro Vice-Chancellor at Liverpool Hope University

SIX months after graduation, many students are without graduate level jobs, but this does not remain the case.

Researchers at Warwick found that after three years, 2% of graduates were unemployed, with fewer than 10% in non-graduate jobs.

Many graduates do not walk straight into graduate jobs, with many on non-vocational degrees continuing to train for professions such as teaching, law and accountancy.

Those entering competitive sectors such as media, sport and sociology may need to work in studios, leisure centres and care homes to gain experience.

But those with degrees earn more. The "graduate premium" has been quoted as £10,000 a year, which over a working lifetime adds up to a lot of foreign holidays and designer clothes.

As participation in higher education increases from 5% in the 1960s to the current 42% this "premium" remains.

PriceaterhouseCoopers showed lifetime enhanced earnings of £160,000 for a first degree.

Going to university is not just about getting a job. For many, it is about studying for its own sake, intellectual curiosity and self fulfilment.

It is about changing and enriching lives and communities; about reaching beyond your immediate locality, meeting new people from other parts of the UK or the worldand future partners, and, understanding how others live. and their values and aspirations

Going to university is not just a selfish indulgence. Graduates put a great deal back into society. They vote more, are healthier, more tolerant, more likely to be members of societies and clubs, support charities, respond to current issues, work longer and are more socially aware.

Finally, in Liverpool where the percentage of young people going to university stubbornly remains among the lowest in Europe, why should we allow potential and aspirations to remain unfulfilled?

Why should some suburbs of Liverpool have fewer than 5% of youngsters going to university while five miles round The Drive over 80% benefit?

Why should some ethnic communities have negligible progression to universities?

Why should these youngsters not be offered the chance to enrich their life chances and contribute positively to society?

Having said this, the universities of Merseyside are responding to the changing world.

We are introducing more vocational and foundation degrees(especially in the health sector); we have more part-time and online flexible degrees; we are supporting more work-based training.

There is increased involvement with business and employers and the encouragement of entrepreneurial approaches.

To raise aspirations and achievement of young people, we work together on Aim Higher to widen participation.

At Liverpool Hope we have Hope Works which this year has placed 300 students in jobs within the university.

Outlook Mentoring places over 300 undergraduates a year with from the three universities with major Merseyside employers, and again at Liverpool Hope we have Hope One World a charity which for 20 years has places staff and students in India, Africa and South America to enrich the global understanding.

Our Big Hope World Youth Congress in June also attempts to emphasise both the academic, spiritual and cultural benefits of university education.

NO: The Case Against - Diplomas to help students become creative thinkers

by Mike Corley at Liverpool Compact Education Business Partnership

AS WE know employers have argued for some time that young people are leaving schools, colleg- es and universities, qualified aca- demically but lacking the employ- ability skills required to pick up the gauntlet of a working life.

The Government has now recognised this and as part of its education reform programme, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is introducing a series of new qualifications called diplomas.

These diplomas will be available at levels 1, 2 &3 (Foundation, Higher and Advanced) for learners aged 14-19.

The diplomas are being developed in 17 broad sector areas and will be phased in over the next few years. By 2013 all learners will have an entitlement to be able to access all lines of learning.

These diplomas are not design- ed to produce "job ready" young people with skills specific to a particular job. They are, however, designed to promote a wide range of employability skills delivered in an applied, work-related context.

They help young people become independent and creative think- ers, team workers and self managers. These gener-ic skills, together with the functional skills of English, mathematics and ICT, are consider-ed to be essential to success in life, learning and work and will be integral to each diploma line.

Liverpool City Council has been instrumental in introducing the new diplomas from this year and will offer work related diplomas in areas including engineering, construction, IT and media.

It has been said that some teachers may lack real "work knowledge" in teaching students about life outside the classroom, having themselves gone from school to university and then back to school.

The diplomas should go some way to address this, as there is provision for continuous profes- sional development within the lines of learning for teachers to have experiences of these industries in order to successfully teach the subject matter.

The specific nature of some of the specialised learning units means that schools and colleges will look to employers to deliver the teaching of some units and protocols are being developed to cover all types of off-site learning.

Liverpool Compact Education Business Partnership who run many work-related learning programmes for Liverpool secondary schools to assist students gain employability skills, is currently promoting the diplomas to local employers via a series of launches within key sector areas.

We have recruited Employer Champions to assist in spreading the word to other employers within their sectors.

Many employers are also look- ing at restarting apprenticeships in order to train young people to gain the specific skills needed for their companies.

It should not be said that employers are looking for no academic qualifications from young people leaving education, but there certainly should be a marrying of work related learning and academia to successfully build a future workforce that has knowledge and understanding.