Responding to a report from Policy Exchange about England's higher education system, Chief Executive of Universities UK, Vivienne Stern MBE, said:
The authors of this report have some good ideas, but they are wrapped up in a familiar and wrong-headed analysis. It is not unusual to see a list of degree-holding commentators take a swipe at the expansion of the university system.
A balanced analysis would note that holding a degree remains one of the best possible protections against unemployment, with just 3% of the graduate population out of work compared to 6% of the wider working age population.
The report might also note that only 8% of graduates regret their decision to go to university, and that by the age of 31, graduate earnings are on average 37% higher than non-graduates. Or note for those of us who enjoy watching television or live music or going to a show, that we’re lucky that there are students who want to enter these fields for the love of it, even if they may not earn huge salaries. They might even note that the reason for the erosion of the graduate premium has a lot to do with the increase in the national minimum wage, which has taken many lower paid workers out of poverty. Good policy making requires analysis of all the facts, not only those you like.
Vivienne Stern
Chief Executive of Universities UK
Background information:
The Policy Exchange comparison of graduate earnings and national living wage should be treated with extreme caution. It compares today's living wage for full time work with graduate salaries from four years ago that include part time work. If adjusted for this UUK estimates that only two out of 34 subjects would see a quarter of graduates earn less than the National Living Wage, and this could fall to none if part-time working were taken into account.