Businesses must back universities

Nov 10 2009 by Sarah Green, The Journal

ABOUT six weeks ago, I wrote an article for The Journal which focused on the CBI’s higher education task force report, Stronger Together, in which I commented that it is up to government to provide the incentives, framework and funding necessary for sustainable success in higher education.

Last week, the Government published its higher education framework, Higher Ambitions, which constitutes an attempt to modernise the sector.

It’s good to see the Government demonstrating proactivity in this area – but do its proposals really deliver?

Briefly, the framework follows three main strands. It advocates a more ‘consumerist’ approach to catering for students’ needs, including providing information on drop-out rates and future earnings to prospective students; it seeks to widen the social spectrum from which students are drawn, particularly with reference to spotting hidden talent in low-performing schools; and, notably, it promotes the idea that universities should work more closely with industry in designing and funding courses.

Critically the Government has recognised the need to support subjects with the greatest economic benefits, for example through greater prioritisation of funding for science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, while still maintaining a diverse HE system.

Students will benefit from better and clearer information about the performance and quality of different universities, and the Government is right to see them as consumers of a university education with increasingly powerful choices to make.

Indeed, students should know what they’re getting for their fees so they can make informed choices about which course to study and where. I’m sure they will want to see which courses deliver most in terms of enhanced career prospects.

On the downside, the framework document is light on the need for a greater focus on improving students’ employability skills. Business has a role to play here in providing internships and work experience, but universities must also do more to ensure that graduates are ready for the world of work.

Businesses on the CBI’s HE taskforce have committed to do more to support UK universities, and we will need others to do the same if we want to reap the rewards of having a world-class HE sector in this country.

CBI members will be focusing on this issue at their next regional council in December.

Sarah Green, CBI regional director.