Higher Education White Paper
Debate between Lord Willetts and Jason McCartney
Mr Willetts
There is a real dilemma here and I respect the hon. Gentleman’s raising it in the House. I believe that putting more power in the hands of students, introducing the choice that we put forward in the White Paper and recognising that the student is in many respects a consumer will not destroy the traditional values of higher education, but strengthen them. I think that the proposals will bring traditional, high-quality teaching and close academic engagement with students back to centre stage. We should not fear these forces. Respecting the autonomy of universities is the best single mechanism we have to drive the traditional high academic standards that we believe in.
Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)
I had an enjoyable night last Monday at the students’ union awards at Huddersfield university, where many students are enjoying their student experience. When students are exercising their choice and picking their university and course, what additional information does the Minister envisage being made available to them?
Mr Willetts
There is a lot of important information that we think prospective students should have, ranging from the contact hours through to the employment prospects at the end of a course. We think that such information should be widely available. Which? has given a clear indication that it will deploy the information and help prospective students to assess it.