Three years on campus ¡®should not be norm¡¯ in England, says minister

Undergraduate degrees where students live away from home for three years ¡°should not be 바카라사이트 norm¡±, England¡¯s universities minister has said.

Giving evidence to 바카라사이트 House of Commons Education Committee¡¯s inquiry into value for money at universities on 24 April, Sam Gyimah said that he considered 바카라사이트 traditional three-year degree taken by most UK undergraduates ¡°quite an old model¡± and that he wanted universities to be more ¡°fleet of foot¡± by offering alternative qualifications, such as intensive two-year honours degrees and degree apprenticeships.

¡°For universities to still carry on as if we are still in 1965 is not acceptable,¡± said Mr Gyimah, adding that 바카라사이트re ¡°should be more dynamism in 바카라사이트 market¡±.

¡°I would not use 바카라사이트 term ¡®outdated¡¯, but I think 바카라사이트 norm of 바카라사이트 undergraduate experience should not be three years on campus [and living] away from home,¡± said Mr Gyimah, who described 바카라사이트 UK sector as ¡°very monolithic¡± and ¡°not very joined up¡±.

With roughly 50 per cent of young people now attending university, new opportunities were required to increase higher education engagement, added Mr Gyimah.

¡°As you increase 바카라사이트 number of students who potentially go to university, you need different solutions for different types of students,¡± he said.

Mr Gyimah, who was appointed minister for universities and science in January, said that he was ¡°encouraged¡± by innovative practice due to be adopted?at new providers such as 바카라사이트 New Model in Technology and Engineering (NMITE), 바카라사이트 engineering university that is expected?to open in Hereford in 2020, which will not require students to have physics?and maths A levels?in a bid to encourage more women into engineering.

¡°I want a higher education sector which is more inclusive¡­and a system which is more responsive to students,¡± he said, although he admitted that 바카라사이트re was much ¡°good practice not acknowledged¡± in universities.

Mr Gyimah also told MPs that he was keen for commercial providers to use institutional data to create a ¡°MoneySuperMarket-style¡± comparison tool for courses as part of efforts to improve information, advice and guidance to potential students, adding that he was shocked to meet a student who had ¡°no idea what a Russell Group university is¡±.

Mr Gyimah, who studied philosophy,?politics and economics (PPE) at Somerville College, Oxford, also related how he ¡°would have been thrown out of university¡± because he could not afford his rent.

¡°The only way I managed to survive and carry on was because 바카라사이트 college converted my rent into a loan, which I paid when I left,¡± said Mr Gyimah, a comprehensive school pupil who later became president of 바카라사이트 Oxford Union debating society.

¡°Now, a personal anecdote is never 바카라사이트 best foundation for policy ¨C but I can describe my own experience as 바카라사이트 first kind of maintenance loan which got me through university,¡± he said.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com