Million Plus

MillionPlus, the Association for Modern Universities, has commented on the speech delivered today (7 June) by Sam Gyimah MP, Universities and Science Minister, to the 2018 Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) conference.

Dr Greg Walker, Chief Executive of MillionPlus, said:

“I welcome the Minister’s strong support for our mass higher education system and his recognition of the world-class quality of our universities. His speech this morning rightly emphasised that students choose to go to university for a broad range of reasons, studying for a wide range of subjects. Sam Gyimah’s affirmation of the importance of lifelong learning and the need to educate people for a breadth of job roles across England is to be welcomed.”

Commenting on proposals to provide more data to students, Dr Walker said:

“Modern universities equip students with skills and understanding in work-focused areas, enabling them to achieve strong graduate outcomes, whether financial or personal. We should do more to improve genuine transparency for students applying to university - but we should be cautious about using earnings data, such as the data published today by the IFS, that doesn’t take into account where you might choose to live and work. Salaries for graduates in London or Cambridge, for instance, will continue to be higher than for some regions of the UK but many graduates will legitimately wish to work in their own locality or region. Differences in current graduate earnings also reflect past ‘milk round’ practices from some large employers that were, until quite recently, based on institutional prestige. Nuance and proper context - supported by independent advice - will be essential if the transparency agenda is to be a success for students in England.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. MillionPlus is the Association for Modern Universities. More information can be found at www.millionplus.ac.uk
2. Modern universities: key facts 2017
3. For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Dan Blows on 020 7717 1658 or email press@millionplus.ac.uk