Oxford’s Professor of Poetry, Geoffrey Hill, slammed the government’s higher education reforms in front of a packed Sheldonian Theatre last week.
At the ancient Encaenia Ceremony, during which the University of Oxford awards honorary degrees and pays tribute to its benefactors, Professor Hill disparaged proposals which he said would turn students into ‘consumers and punters’.
He described his own experiences of coming to Oxford from a working class family, with neither of his parents having been to university. Hill also outlined his fears that the level of scholarships and grants which had made attending university possible for him would not be available under the new funding arrangements.
He added, ‘If even one University comes to consider their students as consumers and punters, the future of education in this country is bleak.’
Outgoing President of the Oxford Student Union David Barclay commended Professor Hill’s speech, saying, ‘As the representative of Oxford students I applaud Professor Hill for his inspiring and vitally important speech today.
‘At one of the University’s most public occasions it was crucial to acknowledge the damage being done to Higher Education by a Government policy in total freefall.
‘Like Professor Hill I find it extremely offensive to suggest that students are consumers. We are members of our University community and our rights and power come from that status, not from the size of our wallets and the level of our debts.’
Professor Hill’s speech comes just weeks after Oxford academics voted overwhelmingly for the No Confidence motion in Universities Minister David Willetts. The Philosophy department of Kings College London has also passed a similar motion, and one is due before Cambridge academics this month.
OUSU’s incoming Vice President for Access and Academic Affairs, Hannah Cusworth, also expressed her support for Professor Hill’s speech. She commented, ‘I think it’s important that universities aren’t just presented to people as solely institutions that improve somebody’s job prospects and that people should choose which university they apply to on the basis on how much it costs.
‘My worry is that in the future students who aren’t willing to take on huge amounts of debt will be put off studying at top universities, even if they are bright enough to go.’
Cusworth added, ‘I hope that the government will really work to get the message out to prospective applicants that they won’t have to pay the new higher fees up-front and that, for many people, the monthly repayments will be lower under the new system than what is currently the case’, and explained that she would be working to ensure that no one was put off applying to Oxford because of the higher headline fee.
Hill’s comments came as David Willetts’ latest plans for introducing a functioning market in higher education were outlined in a government White Paper, called Students at the Heart of the System.
The plans include encouraging universities to bid for places by reserving 20,000 places for courses with fees below £7,500 and allowing universities to offer unlimited places for students with AAB or above, whatever their total student quota.
Willetts claims his policy will put “students in the driving seat” and “put power … in the hands of students”. According to the Higher Education Minister, these new procedures are “just the start”.
However, these attempts to impose market forces on the University system are unlikely to change student numbers at Oxford. A spokesperson for the University said, “The University has no plans to increase undergraduate numbers. The tutorial and collegiate systems place a natural limit on student numbers.”
NUS President Aaron Porter argued that the changes would expose students to “the potential chaos of the market and yet there are still no concrete proposals for how quality, accountability and access will be improved.”
Cusworth commented, ‘I think because of Oxford’s traditions and approach to academic study some of the more market orientated proposals in the White Paper won’t work in the Oxford context.’
However, she added, ‘I think it’s important we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, and I welcome Willetts’ focus on ensuring teaching is valued and always of a high quality.’
