Four of the 10 top-rated universities in the world, five of the top 20 and 10 of the top 50 are British. This is according to the QS world university rankings. But other rankings are similar. Despite its vastly greater size and wealth, the US has only five of the top 10 and 18 of the top 50. Continental Europe has none of the top 10 and a mere four of the top 50. In higher education, the UK is a superpower.
One would assume that the government would approach reform with circumspection. But one would be wrong. Radical new plans were introduced in a discussion document, “Fulfilling our Potential”, published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills at the end of last year. The central idea is to “open up the sector to greater competition from new high-quality providers”. These providers, some of which are private businesses, will find it quite easy to become “universities” and award their own degrees. They will be able to enter the sector and also exit. The government has also lifted limits on the numbers eligible for student loans. But it imposes no minimum academic qualification on those taking out such loans.
The question is partly whether it makes sense to view higher education as a business. The government recognises problems. But it underestimates them.