UK ministers warned against 2-year university degree programmes

Ministers have been warned against introducing two-year university degrees amid concerns it will lead to “education on the cheap”.

The University and College Union (UCU) said universities are not “academic sweatshops” and such degrees would stop staff carrying out vital research and other work.

The union also warned the Government against “rebranding” tuition fees and marketing them as a “graduate tax”, saying the public will not accept it.

The comments came as Business Secretary Vince Cable was due to make a speech on higher education.

It has been suggested he will say two-year degrees could transform university for thousands of undergraduates, and allow students to pay fewer tuition fees, as well as leaving graduates with less debt.

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: “Two-year degrees may sound great on paper but are in effect education on the cheap. They would be incredibly teacher-intensive and would stop staff from carrying out vital research and pastoral duties. Our universities are places of learning, not academic sweatshops, and we need to get away from the idea that more can be delivered for less.”

According to reports, the Treasury is looking at the possibility of a graduate tax for students rather than a tuition fee hike. This could mean graduates paying for their university education through a special tax once they start work.

Dr Cable stressed he is not announcing plans for a graduate tax, but had asked Lord Browne to investigate it as part of his review.

He said there are problems with the existing system, where graduates repay fees as they work: “It bears absolutely no relationship to a graduate’s earnings, and we want to relate it to ability to pay if it’s feasible.”

Dr Cable said graduates already effectively pay a graduate tax: “At the moment you pay 9p in the pound and we want to make that more progressive, more related to people’s earnings.”

Source: Press Association