DfE to Cap Low-Return University Courses, Consult on English Rules as IFS Finds £400,000 Medicine Premium
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 25
DfE to Cap Low-Return University Courses, Consult on English Rules as IFS Finds £400,000 Medicine Premium
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 25
Summary
Autumn consultations will set out how England limits growth in university courses with consistently poor student returns and introduces minimum English-language requirements for access to student finance.
IFS research prompted the move by showing returns vary sharply by subject: medicine graduates can earn up to £400,000 more over a lifetime than non-graduates, while creative arts, philosophy and languages can deliver little or negative returns.
£100,000 is the average lifetime gain for graduates after tax and loan repayments, but a quarter are expected to be financially worse off; one in 10 men could lose more than £90,000 versus not attending university.
Low-attaining students still gain on average—about £53,000 more lifetime take-home pay than similar non-graduates—but around four in 10 male graduates in that group are worse off financially.
Universities and mobility advocates said earnings are not the only measure of value, warning that criticism of low-value degrees is not matched by enough high-quality apprenticeships or technical alternatives.