Higher Education

The fullest account of my thinking on higher education is my book A University Education published by Oxford University Press. The slide presentation of March 2024 brings out some of the key themes. 

A University Education
March 1, 2024
Presentation
By David Willetts

A short history of English universities. First there was Oxford. Then Cambridge (And nothing else for 600 years)

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A University Education
By David Willetts

Universities have a crucial role in the modern world. In England entrance to universities is by nation-wide competition which means English universities have an exceptional influence on schools - a striking theme of the book. This important book first investigates the university as an institution and then tracks the individual on their journey to and through university.

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As Minister I fought a long battle to get access to HMRC income data so we could understand better the earnings of graduates doing a range of different courses. This data is now being used for analysis of graduate outcomes but is in danger of having attributed to it much more significance than was ever intended. I warned about this in two articles for Times Higher. 

David Willetts: ‘I find the concept of over-education repellent’
March 18, 2021
Article
By David Willetts

Graduate employment outcomes are obviously crucial. Yet we must be wary of judging courses and institutions on the basis of a few useful but misleading

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It is clear that university expansion changes lives for the better
November 23, 2017
Article
By David Willetts

The former higher education minister on why the English sector must keep growing, the ‘barbarism’ at the heart of the schools system and how to tackle negativity about universities

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The pressures on university funding have become more intense. A recent paper by me for HEPI in 2021 set out some of the issues. The Government did then act to improve the arrangements for graduate repayments to bring down the so-called RAB charge. But there are a range of other topical issues in the pamphlet.

Boosting higher education while cutting public spending
September 30, 2021
PDF
By David Willetts

The end of 2021 is going to be crucial for post-16 education in England. The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) will determine its funding. The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill going through Parliament will shape its structure. The new Secretary of State has an opportunity to review and revise the Department for Education’s strategy. These big decisions are being taken against a political and media backdrop more hostile to universities than for a long time.

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