Academics criticise White Paper

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph this week, academics, including professors from Imperial College London, Oxford and Cambridge, criticised government White Paper proposals for higher education reform, specifically the idea of universities being run by private companies, i.e. for profit. They warn it will be to the detriment of students, graduates and taxpayers. They believe the proposed system will emulate private universities in the US, claiming that in the US higher education system, “for-profit companies offer derisory graduation rates, crushing levels of debt and degrees of dubious value.”

The letter demonstrates fears that universities run by profit-driven firms will provide a poor service to students whilst maximising short-term gain for shareholders, all at the expense of the taxpayer. This is shown by a claimed statistic mentioned in the letter, which states: “According to the US Education Trust, only 20 per cent of students at for-profit colleges complete a four-year course and the same proportion of those who do finish default on their loans within three years.”

The government plans would, according to the signatories, facilitate universities becoming private sector bodies by enabling private providers to gain degree-awarding powers, which are likely to seen by private providers as a desirable intellectual property right. Potential advantages of private investment might be increased funding to provide a better service to students particularly in ‘struggling’ universities without dependence on the taxpayer. Nevertheless academics are urging the government to reassess its plans in order to prevent “students and taxpayers suffering the consequences”.