News
How do we put a price on University Education?
- 16 September 2011
The financial furore surrounding the free for all of the student fees issue in the UK seems set to rumble on.
Those who pay attention to such things; anxious, cash strapped parents for example, are acutely aware of the doubled edged sword examination success can become as their newly empowered offspring apply for a university place.
But which university do we choose? Until recently, factors such as location, availability of affordable student accommodation, the university’s reputation and the “right” course were key. Not anymore.
The UK government’s decision to allow English universities to charge tuition fees of up £9,000 per year resulted in an unexpected rush to do exactly that, as a significantly greater number than anticipated declared their intention to charge the maximum possible.
Choosing a university has become a matter of affordability.
Keen observers will be aware that Scottish universities will be allowed to increase their fees for undergraduates from the rest of the UK, or “RUK”s, from next year. This development follows the Scottish Government’s decision to remove their funding of Scottish universities subsequent to the introduction of higher fees in England. Consequently, the scramble to gain position in the marketplace has seen universities adopt a variety of tactics worthy of the most cost conscious supermarket.
But this free market mentality is not without risk.
For example, plans by Edinburgh University to increase fees to the maximum permissible, could mean potential students opting to study south of the border as the institution announces its intention to charge £36,000 for a full honours degree programme. By proposing to make their fees the highest in the UK at £9,000 per year for each of the four years of study required to attain an Honours degree, the university risks RUK students choosing more affordable institutions, perhaps in their home regions thus depriving them and the Scottish economy of much needed income. Compare the cost to a student opting to study at either Oxford or Cambridge University, who can, on average, expect to pay around £25,000 in tuition fees.
Still in Scotland, both Aberdeen and Heriot-Watt universities are marketing their “buy three years, get one free” degree packages in response to Edinburgh’s proposal to charge for each year of study, with the proviso that substantial bursaries will be available to students from low income backgrounds.
Indeed, the university reports that it plans to earmark more than 50% of the additional fee income to providing these bursaries, with the declared intention that no student will be denied access to its courses for financial reasons. Further, access and accommodation bursaries will be made available to students living in Scotland with the remaining balance of the increased fees going towards providing an enhanced student experience.
And this is the key to the issue; the student experience.
It can be argued that it is virtually impossible to compare one institution against another in any meaningful way. Certainly the range of courses available, quality of teaching and opportunities for research activity etcetera, etcetera are crucial and these are relatively easy to measure, and presumably the cost of providing these key elements to the student is a major factor in determining the level of student fees.
However, in terms of the experience an individual university provides for the individual student, there are just too many imponderable factors to make this an accurate costing. How can a university even begin to calculate the financial worth of the history, heritage and traditions built up since its inception?
Of course universities can list examples of facilities and amenities that provide added value but the true nature of the university experience ultimately rests with the individual and this only exacerbates the problem.
For example, native Scots, domiciled in Scotland are, and will continue to be, exempt from tuition fees. This means that attendance at any given lecture could consist of students who have paid anything from full fees to nothing at all.
This is similar to finding yourself aboard a budget aircraft, heading off towards foreign climes beset by the niggling doubt that you have paid more than your neighbour for the same holiday. Such a situation can only lead to disquiet and discontent.
The issue isn’t about the profile of individual universities or even the fees they charge; these are matters for the Marketing team.
According to the QS World Rankings for 2011/2012, Edinburgh University was recently ranked 20th in the world, 5th in the UK and 6th in Europe and should be applauded for this achievement and no doubt these figures will influence many potential students.
The issue is now value for money and that centres on our perceptions of individual universities.
By charging fees that are substantially higher than rival institutions, universities are asking students to invest in their brand, to become stakeholders in their reputation and to hope that both are future proof; the value of your education can go up as well as down.
Paying the fees to access a university education represents an investment in the future; a substantial investment. Let us hope that those responsible are aware of Oscar Wilde’s damning indictment, “Nowadays, people know the price of everything and the value of nothing”.