Prestigious universities are at risk of becoming “the preserve of privileged elites” even more as disadvantaged students appear to be turning away from degrees, an education expert has warned.
Professor Lee Elliot Major, a social mobility professor at the University of Exeter, said he was concerned that poorer students across the country would be “put off” disproportionately studying university degrees.
He also warned those awaiting A-level results on 15 August may turn away from degrees over concerns about the attainment gap in schools post-pandemic and claims higher education would not enhance career prospects.
Professor Elliot Major also believes claims that many universities are offering ‘Mickey Mouse’ courses and reports of universities experiencing financial difficulties are making many teenagers wary about going to university.
He said: “It’s the Covid legacy, it’s the widening attainment gaps, it’s the cost of living crisis, which I think is getting worse by the year, and then you’ve got this anti-university rhetoric we’ve heard constantly.
“So I think those things are probably having an impact and it’s a real pity because, of course, what we know is university can be incredibly transformative in terms of young people’s lives.
“Many more school leavers are questioning the value of more academic study, worried by the cost of living crisis on campus, and digesting the constant diet of negative headlines about higher education, from ‘Mickey Mouse’ courses to financial turmoil across the sector.
“From a social mobility perspective, the concern is that students from lower-income backgrounds are disproportionately turning away from higher education, potentially missing out on the transformative impact it can have on their futures.
“In the post-pandemic era of widening school divides in the race to secure the top grades, the fear is that the country’s most prestigious universities will become even more the preserve of privileged elites.”
Professor Elliot Major added that he believed privileged A-level students, including those who were privately educated, could be more likely to achieve higher grades and secure places at selective universities after pandemic disruption.
Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will receive their A-level results on Thursday next week, while those in Scotland are set to receive their results for their Nationals, Highers, Advanced Highers and national certificates on Tuesday.
The professor’s comments come after figures released by university admission’s service UCAS last month showed the application rate for UK 18-year-olds has fallen to 41.9 per cent, down from 42.1 per cent last year and 44.1 per cent in 2022.
As of 30 June – the final deadline to apply to up to five courses simultaneously through Ucas – applications from disadvantaged 18-year-olds in England fell to 25.4 per cent, while applications from the most advantaged rose to 60.7 per cent.
In May, the former Conservative government proposed scrapping so-called ‘Micky Mouse’ degrees, which they claimed do not propel graduates into well-paid jobs over increasing spending on apprenticeships.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak claimed that some universities were “ripping young people off“, by offering courses that do not increase their long-term earning potential.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), claimed the previous Conservative government had made students wary about higher education owing to its “anti-university rhetoric”.
She also believes the cost of living crisis and attainment gaps in schools following the Covid-19 pandemic had contributed to the higher education participation gaps.
She said: “I was talking to somebody recently who had met a student who had decided not to go to university because they had been offered a place and they talked to their parents and their parents sort of referred to what ministers had been saying about ‘well it’s not worth going to university’. They didn’t take the place up as a result. That’s a real tragedy.
“This, combined with the negative rhetoric from the previous UK government, is resulting in a challenging recruitment environment for higher education providers.”
Rose Stephenson, director of policy and advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank, said the cost of living crisis and the current maintenance support package for students was “no longer fit for purpose”.
A spokesman for the Russell Group, which includes many of the most selective and research-intensive universities in the UK, said: “Latest Ucas figures for this year do not show a significant drop in demand from disadvantaged applicants, with application rates for UK students of all backgrounds similar to last year.
“However, our universities understand that cost of living pressures and the loss of learning from the pandemic disproportionately impact on disadvantaged young people.
“That is why they have introduced a range of measures to support students from these backgrounds, such as accommodation and work experience bursaries and academic programmes to support the transition to university.”
Experts claim universities are struggling financially over tuition fees being frozen at a similar same rate for more than a decade and international student numbers now falling.
Dr Simon Boxley, a senior lecturer at the University of Winchester and local UCU branch secretary, told i in May: “Everybody is waiting with bated breath to see who will go under first, which institution it will be that will fall off the cliff edge.”
Additional reporting by Press Association.
