Student debt is deterring pupils from taking arts A-levels because they can’t afford to study subjects at university that don’t lead to a guaranteed career, says Lorenza Antonucci.
While a record number of students have been accepted onto degree courses in the UK this year, the recent A-level results also reveal that labour market returns play a large part in determining students’ chosen courses. In order to understand the recent drop in arts-based subjects taken by students in A-Level entries, we need to discuss the changing context of student funding and how current higher education is framing ‘student choice’.
The trend towards more ‘vocational’ A-level subjects such as maths and sciences is, indeed, a natural consequence of having framed higher education as a private investment, whose success depends on labour market returns.
After the 2012/2013 reforms, student debt increased from an average of £10,299 in 2012/2013 to an expected average of £44,000. Students who enter higher education from September 2016 will have it even worse: the Sutton Trust has predicted an increase in English student debt in excess of £50,000 after the abolition of grants this year, while the last higher education bill, with the removal of the soft cap in fees, will result in even higher fees for students starting in 2017... Keep reading on SchoolsWeek
While a record number of students have been accepted onto degree courses in the UK this year, the recent A-level results also reveal that labour market returns play a large part in determining students’ chosen courses. In order to understand the recent drop in arts-based subjects taken by students in A-Level entries, we need to discuss the changing context of student funding and how current higher education is framing ‘student choice’.
The trend towards more ‘vocational’ A-level subjects such as maths and sciences is, indeed, a natural consequence of having framed higher education as a private investment, whose success depends on labour market returns.
After the 2012/2013 reforms, student debt increased from an average of £10,299 in 2012/2013 to an expected average of £44,000. Students who enter higher education from September 2016 will have it even worse: the Sutton Trust has predicted an increase in English student debt in excess of £50,000 after the abolition of grants this year, while the last higher education bill, with the removal of the soft cap in fees, will result in even higher fees for students starting in 2017... Keep reading on SchoolsWeek