Greybeard Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 The Reform think tank is predicting that graduates will face a tax burden as high as 50 per cent of their earnings in the early years of a career, and many will have little chance of buying their own home. http://www.reform.co.uk/website/pressroom/news.aspx?o=26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick2 Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 A very large majority of all voters (65 per cent), and clear majorities in all age groups, think that it is now more difficult for younger people to get started in life than it was for their parents. Hasn't that always been the case ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timo Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 As a lecturer in H.E., I have mixed feelings here. On one hand, students are my 'bread and butter', but on the other hand, Blair's ludicrous target of 50% of the population studying to Degree level means that the great debts will increase and we will continue to meet large numbers of students who plainly possess little academic ability. Going to University has always been something of a privilege and a gamble. There is no guarantee that the possession of qualifications will secure a safe, content and rewarding future. Far too many students are seduced by the emphasis upon 'nightlife' and 'fun' in far too many a University prospectus. They should think long and hard about the strengths and deficits of University life and higher education. Many are not cut out for it. Those who are financially improvident, intellectually incurious, unsure of their academic ability and lacking in motivation should avoid higher education at all cost. They can always enrol at Central University Neepsend Tip Site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CockneyMafia Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 This is my idea for making degrees/university more meaningful and fairer. 1. Universities to (re) introduce MEANINGFUL entrance standards which HAVE to be adhered to. None of this "Grade E at General Knowledge" entry requirement rubbish. This will automatically cull students who don’t deserve to be there purely on an academic basis. Fewer students also means more money to go round. 2. Students to be given vouchers, not cash grants. These vouchers are redeemable for housing, books, travel and food. This will stop public money being wasted on hedonistic pursuits. I'll be damned if I am paying for some lary 18 year old to go out and get drunk every night. If they want money for that kind of thing, they can get a part time job. 3. Student attendance to be thoroughly monitored. Anyone who falls below a certain attendance rate (without some form of official reason, such as a doctors note) is kicked off the course, with his or her money having to be repaid. Trust me, this would see half of Sheffield Hall am student population wiped out for a start!! 3a. An alternative to 2. and 3. would be to make the Student borrow all the money up front, and then, after successful completion of the course, and a satisfactory attendance record, they can be re-imbursed. It would be a hell of an incentive to turn up for lectures and actually work, rather than spend 3 years getting hammered and parying. And lets face it, if you have reached a proper entrance standard to get on the course, there is no reason why you should fail it. It is an absolute nonsense that everyone 'deserves' to go to university. They only deserve to go if they are academically bright enough. This kind of Lefty drivel is the reason why degrees have been totally dumbed down, and we are now awash with 'graduates' who end up working in school leaver jobs. I also think the careers service have a LOT to answer for. There is too much insistence on making people go to university, without looking at other options such as on the job training, professional qualifications and vocational courses. If I knew then what I know now I wouldnt have gone to University so readily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Moomin Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 It is an absolute nonsense that everyone 'deserves' to go to university. They only deserve to go if they are academically bright enough. This kind of Lefty drivel is the reason why degrees have been totally dumbed down, and we are now awash with 'graduates' who end up working in school leaver jobs. I also think the careers service have a LOT to answer for. There is too much insistence on making people go to university, without looking at other options such as on the job training, professional qualifications and vocational courses. If I knew then what I know now I wouldnt have gone to University so readily. I totally agree, although I would still go to uni if I had my time again. All Blairs insistence that so many people go to uni doesm is seemingly add false value and status to a degreem whilst demeaning more vocational training such as apprentiships etc. I hope that I have and am still managing my finances well enough so that my student debt isn't a ball and chain forever, but too many people borrow large sums of money (beyond the standard givernment loans which tbh are probably one of the best ways of borrowing money around) in credit cards and overdrafts, and then find that their degree in David Beckham studies has qualified them to stack shelves and not only can they not afford to keep up the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed or parties and nights out, but they can't afford their debt either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidge00 Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 As a graduate who received no financial support from my parents, and had a paid job throughout my university career...what do people think to the fact that we get charged interest on our student loans, which amounts to approximately £350 per year? (well, it does for me anyway) I know what i think about it....especially as i now have a mortgage to pay and have been unable to secure a job that pays 'graduate rates' despite having a 2:1 in Politics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick2 Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I know what i think about it....especially as i now have a mortgage to pay and have been unable to secure a job that pays 'graduate rates' despite having a 2:1 in Politics. What job did you think a degree in politics would help you get (apart from the obvious one of politician) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crayfish Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Not convinced by those points, though I agree with some of the generalities e.g. those with no academic leanings should obviously not go to University, they'd be far better off in a vocational setting e.g. traineeship. Students aren't given cash grants for drinking. They're given a very small loan for all living costs (I've been surviving on ca.3100 pounds annually for the last three years), which has to be repaid - so my studies have plunged me nearly 10,000 pounds into debt. The taxpayers only burden is the University fees for those with low family incomes, which obviously can't be drunk away. Attendance on our course was monitored for much of it e.g. laboratory sessions, and failure to turn up to enough of these would have resulted in being kicked off and having to repay the loan built up to that point. Attendance at the lectures was not monitored, but then again although I found them useful and attended them all I know at least one person who learnt what they needed to from textbooks etc., barely ever turned up to the lectures and still got as high or higher marks than myself. I think that one of the reasons that these 'idiot courses' are being offered by Universities is financial, students are a source of revenue and represent a net gain of assets for a University. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 mike - are your points, particularly point 2 based on the real situation, or a supposed situation where students are given grants. At the moment there are no grants for most students and they do borrow the money to pay for their course fees and all other living expenses. If they choose to buy beer, I don't see why that's really any of your or my business, they're the ones who have to repay the money. The same regarding course attendance, why do we care, if they don't attend a fail, they've still got to repay the money, so it's their problem, not ours. Maybe the universities would be more inclined to only take students who can actually achieve something if they had to repay course fees for those who left in the first year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 As a graduate who received no financial support from my parents, and had a paid job throughout my university career...what do people think to the fact that we get charged interest on our student loans, which amounts to approximately £350 per year? (well, it does for me anyway) I know what i think about it....especially as i now have a mortgage to pay and have been unable to secure a job that pays 'graduate rates' despite having a 2:1 in Politics. The interest is set at a very low level, having the loan value increase in line with inflation seems perfectly fair to me. Maybe if you'd done a different degree you'd have heard of the future value of money, which would explain quite succinctly why the money is not lent to you at 0% interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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