Students’ president fears split based on wealth

Thom Arnold, the president of Sheffield Students’ Union, has also voiced fears that higher tuition fees could put people off entering post-graduate study.

He spoke to the Yorkshire Post after being appointed to the new Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which has been set up by the IPPR thinktank.

Mr Arnold is the only student representative in the group which mainly consists of university chancellors and leading academics.

The commission will address how higher education can respond to the challenges it will face over the next 20 years and is to report its findings in 12 months time.

It will assess what role higher education should play in the 21st century, how market forces should affect universities and how world class teaching and research can be paid for during the age of austerity.

The commission will also examine how universities should be governed and look at their relationship with schools, colleges and sixth forms.

“One of the main areas of concern I will want to raise is post-graduate study,” Mr Arnold said.

“Courses at the moment are around £4,000 to £6,000 a year. If there is fee inflation as a result of the higher degree fees of £9,000 this could stop people from some backgrounds going into postgraduate study.

“In areas like arts and humanities, the main route to teaching in these subjects in higher education is through post-graduate study.

“It would be wrong if the only people who are able to teach in these subjects are those who can afford it. “

Mr Arnold said that if this happened, the way in which these subjects were taught would only reflect the “ethos” of people from a certain background.

He also voiced fears about the impact that the Government’s reform of the university admissions system will have.

The trebling of fees to £9,000 a year comes into effect this September alongside new rules which will allow universities to recruit unlimited numbers of top-performing students.

From 2012 universities can take on as many candidates who achieve two As and B or better at A-level as they want.

The Government has also ring-fenced 20,000 places for higher education providers who can deliver courses on average for less than £7,500 a year. These plans are expected to allow the stronger-performing universities to expand the number of top students they recruit.

Mr Arnold has, however, voiced fears that it could polarise the country’s higher education system, and he warned that using the AAB measure would benefit students from better-off backgrounds.

“You could have students getting AAB grades going to the universities which charge £9,000 while less well off students go to universities which are offering lower price courses. It could segregate society.”

The commission will be chaired by Professor Nigel Thrift, the vice chancellor of Warwick University, and its members include a number of other leading vice chancellors and academic experts.

Prof Thrift said: “This is a time of profound change in our higher education system so we are very pleased to announce the formation of this commission.

“Just as the Robbins, Dearing and Browne Reports took a step back to look strategically at the future of higher education, so this commission will examine the role higher education plays in our national life and address the key challenges it will face over the next 20 years.”

The commission will run for 12 months, publishing its final report in February 2013.

Mr Arnold, who was elected to represent the 25,000 strong student body in Sheffield last year, said he was proud to have been asked to sit on the body and his appointment was a boost for the university.

“The IPPR got in touch and asked if I would be interested in sitting on the panel.

“I am president of Sheffield Students’ Union and the university was named as university of the year. This is great recognition for the institution and I jumped at the chance.”

He chairs its Trustee Board, Student Executive Committee and Staffing Committee, and sits on the University Council and Senate.

Last month he told the Yorkshire Post that student anger towards the Liberal Democrats over the issue of tuition fees still existed after it was revealed most institutions in the region had seen a drop in the number of applications for courses starting in 2012 when the higher fees come into force.