Impact of tuition fees may be felt in the workplace
31st January 2012
Posted by Rachel Krys
The rise in tuition fess could have a knock-on effect on cultural attitudes in the workplace, according to one Human Resources (HR) director.
Donna Miller, HR director at Europe at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, told People Management that she hoped that the fees would not put students off applying for university, but they could result in a shift in attitudes towards debt.
"Rather than debt being a taboo, it will become the norm, and the workforce will shift to accommodate that," she said.
"We are just seeing a move towards the US model of higher education; it does not mean less people go."
From September 2012 the government will allow universities to charge as much as £9,000 a year for undergraduate courses, raising the maximum level for tuition fees up from £3,375.
There are fears that the increase could result in a lack of inclusion in the classroom at university level as students who are concerned about the financial burden avoid higher education to prevent themselves from falling into heavy debt.
Critics have claimed that this could close certain career paths off to people from disadvantaged backgrounds, resulting in a lack of social inclusion and diversity in many businesses.
The most recent statistics show that the number of applications from UK-based students to universities in the UK fell by 8.7 per cent, although UCAS has said that the drop in demand was fairly even across social groups.
Ms Miller has suggested that many students may choose to adapt to the new landscape rather than shying away from a university education.
"What is more likely to happen is people will choose more local universities, rather than moving away from home, to reduce the cost. Or people will have part-time jobs to help pay for university rather than taking out loans,” she said.
"I'm from the US, and there people come out [of college] with debt but they are looking at the long term increases in life time earnings. Given all the long term benefits a university education can offer, a decision based on avoiding debt would be short sighted."
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