The Wolverhampton Great HE Funding Debate

I was invited to the Great HE Funding Debate in Wolverhampton and attended as a panellist.

I spoke on a panel with the a pro VC and the Dean of Students, which was pretty scary. Our topic was "Should Universities be looking for funding from outside the box- i.e business contributions, graduate tax etc" and to summarise I argued this-

-> In the current top up fee system the contribution of the individual is too high. This contribution could outweigh the contribution of the state if the £3000 cap on fees is lifted, and it is a massive financial risk to take with no guarantee of success or graduate premium. Rather than being a sound financial investment, tuiton fees are becoming more like an overpriced lottery ticket.

-> For these reasons a future funding system must ensure two things- that the focus is moved away from the individual student to contribute to their tuition, and that any individual contribution must be relative.

-> The business sector benefits greatly from a profit enhancing graduate workforce, and therefore must take some responsibility in funding higher education.

-> Those who earn more should pay more. The contribution that you make to higher education must be proportional to your benefit. I argued for a fixed rate graduate tax, to be paid off for a period of time following graduation (subject to a minimum salary)

.... to be continued