Extra England university places for wealthy considered
The government currently sets a quota for English university places that can be offered each year
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Universities in England may be permitted to make extra places available for wealthy British students, under government proposals.
They would be charged as much as those from outside the European Union (EU).
Ministers say the proposal would free up publicly subsidised university places for poorer students.
Under the current system, the government sets a quota for the number of places English universities are allowed to offer each year.
From September 2012, universities in England will be allowed to raise tuition fees to up to £9,000 per year.
It marks an increase in the cap from the current level of £3,290.
Universities wanting to charge more than £6,000 will have to undertake measures such as offering bursaries, summer schools and outreach programmes, to encourage students from poorer backgrounds to apply.
The policy was developed as the government's response to a review of higher education funding by former BP chief Lord Browne.
Students from outside the EU pay higher fees and are not eligible for any grants or loans.
Under the latest proposals, wealthy students could pay higher fees for an extra place at the university of their choice as long as they meet entry requirements.
The move would enable the most popular universities to expand.
Universities Minister David Willetts said he wanted the government's forthcoming white paper on university funding to liberalise the system.
BBC Education correspondent Gillian Hargreaves said the proposals "would be controversial".
"Critics would argue the wealthiest families would be able to buy a place on a degree course," she said.
This quite surprised me. I actually find the very idea offensive. I didn't particularly mind the tuition fee rises because no one pays anything up front and if you end up not earning much you pay nothing ever. But, the idea of richer stupider people being able to buy places at top universities appalls my general sense of equality.
That being said, I would be amazed if this gets passed. I think it's much more likely to be a piece of political maneuvering on the part of the Conservatives. Either to give the Lib Dems something to knock down in an attempt at strengthening their position (the less likely option) or else as a negotiating tactic so that the Lib Dems use up their bargaining power opposing this rather than NHS reforms.
I don't get it. If students (with rich parents) have already met the entry requirements, why would they pay extra?
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi
"Problem is, while the Germans have had many mea culpas and quite painfully dealt with their history, the South is still hellbent on painting themselves as the real victims. It gives them a special place in the history of assholes" - Covenant
"Over three million died fighting for the emperor, but when the war was over he pretended it was not his responsibility. What kind of man does that?'' - Saburo Sakai
bobalot wrote:I don't get it. If students (with rich parents) have already met the entry requirements, why would they pay extra?
Because of over-subscription. For the best universities the official entry requirements are a minimum. For example pretty much ever applicant to Oxford and Cambridge is predicted straight As, but about 80% of them are rejected.
Being able to meet the minimum entry requirements is an entirely different kettle of fish to actually getting in (at the top unis).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the current system permit people to 'buy places' at top universities already? I.e. Non-EU students. These would correspond to 'international students' in Australia, vs 'domestic students'. Why is there no similar outrage over this?
Alos, in the current system, if a British national actually changed their citizenship to that of a non-EU state, then couldn't they gain a similar place (albeit torturously)? The proposed changes would just make it easier. (The question then becomes - does it make it so easy that it facilitates corruption?)
In either case, the 'wealthy British applicant' is now competing against the existing pool of non-EU applicants. Rather than literally buying a place, they are 'getting a second shot at entrance' by 'switching queues'. Non-EU students could do this currently, by becoming British citizens (if they really wanted to).
Regarding excessive 'connectedness' of applicants leading to unfair entrance, this same problem could happen with rich non-EU applicants from well-connected families. Again, I think the real question is not whether people should be allowed to 'buy a place', but rather to what degree these changes would worsen existing vulnerabilities to corruption.
I am not familiar with the UK system, so please feel free to correct me.
Robert Gilruth to Max Faget on the Apollo program: “Max, we’re going to go back there one day, and when we do, they’re going to find out how tough it is.”
bobalot wrote:I don't get it. If students (with rich parents) have already met the entry requirements, why would they pay extra?
Because of over-subscription. For the best universities the official entry requirements are a minimum. For example pretty much ever applicant to Oxford and Cambridge is predicted straight As, but about 80% of them are rejected.
Being able to meet the minimum entry requirements is an entirely different kettle of fish to actually getting in (at the top unis).
Then this is a form of queue jumping for rich people, which totally undermines the idea of meritocracy that modern universities are supposedly based on.
What makes this even worse is that apparently the government is also going to be cutting public places at universities by 10,000.
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi
"Problem is, while the Germans have had many mea culpas and quite painfully dealt with their history, the South is still hellbent on painting themselves as the real victims. It gives them a special place in the history of assholes" - Covenant
"Over three million died fighting for the emperor, but when the war was over he pretended it was not his responsibility. What kind of man does that?'' - Saburo Sakai
I could support something like this in theory if there was some guarantee that the proceeds would be reinvested into the university or to assist low-income students in some way, rather than going into the pockets of administrators or what have you. But I think we all know the chances of that.
