Responding to the Education Policy Institute’s report by Professor the Baroness Alison Wolf on the tertiary education system, University Alliance Chief Executive Maddalaine Ansell said:
“University degrees are hugely beneficial, both for the individual and for society. Graduate employment rates and salaries remain much higher than for non-graduates and the evidence shows that higher education leads to benefits for health, wellbeing and life satisfaction.
“With a strong track record of providing opportunities for those already in the labour market including through Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and as key partners in the degree apprenticeships programme, University Alliance welcomes moves towards creating multiple pathways into highly skilled employment.
“Working lives are getting longer and more precarious, and our skills and education systems need to be flexible to support lifelong learning so students can access education at different stages of life when they need to – whether this is part time or through an accelerated two-year degree. That’s why we are calling for a more flexible funding system to support accelerated degrees and innovative provision which fits around students’ lives, a reintroduction of Individual Learning Accounts and the loosening of the criteria for Advanced Learning Loans to include more levels of study.”
Notes to editors:
Education Policy Institute’s report, Remaking tertiary education: can we create a system that is fair and fit for purpose?, was published on Monday 14 November.
