According to a new report by Onward UK, “it is not worth incurring over £50,000 of debt to obtain a university degree” amid a fifth to quarter of university students. The report not only questions the value of some degrees, but also provides various solutions to help refute these issues.
Overview of Onward UK
The organisation is a non-profit, independent brain trust. In evaluating the state of the market and governance, their aim is to provide practical policies in hope to “make Britain fairer, more prosperous and more united”.
Main points from Report
In summary, it is assumed that graduates may not earn enough money to pay back their incurred student loans. While, for those who do earn enough experience extremely high taxes, inhibiting their ability to repay these loans.
- After a decade, one tenth of current undergraduates will earn less than £25,000 per year.
- 83% of student loans will never be completely paid back.
- Graduates who are successful in paying loans back, sustain marginal tax rates possibly reaching 51p/£.
In terms of salaries by university, LSE graduates earn the most. It was found that by age 29, the raw average earnings of those in employment as of 2015/16 were £60,300 and £55,100 for men and women respectively.
Solutions recommended
Onward UK provides a range of solutions; notable ones include:
- Applying a tax cut to loan repayments for all students.
- Promote high value university courses.
- Grow investments in apprenticeships and higher technical education.
- Increase the transparency of university funding.
But, some of these solutions are problematic, especially diverting investments from low value university courses. This could possible lead to an imbalance in student quotas across certain degrees reducing value in these courses over the long-term.
But at the end of the day, whatever the value of the degree, it is down to the individual to decide what they want to do.
