Taken from the Nationalstudent.com…
New Chairman of the 1994 Group Michael Farthing has hit out against the
government’s White
Paper, suggesting it promotes universities as ‘warehouses that sell off the
shelf qualifications’.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Sussex said
that the government’s higher education reforms were not ‘ambitious’ enough and
needed to place more emphasis on student experience in his first speech as
Chairman of the group this week.
He added, ‘Students are more than consumers
purchasing degree certificates.
‘We cannot fall into the trap of reducing higher
education to a set of simple transactions. We are promised proposals to support
research soon, but the government has failed to recognise the experience
universities strive to create for students.
‘Universities are communities where people come
together to create and share knowledge.
‘We do students a disservice if we value them as
anything other than active participants in these communities.’
The 1994 Group
represents 19 of the UK
A spokesperson for the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills told
the BBC that the changes in funding, information and places would help
students.
‘Up to now, the number of places at each university
has been set centrally. That is not in the interests of students.
‘So, in 2012-13, one quarter of all places will be
freed from number controls, with greater liberalisation in later years. That
means more diverse provision, more student choice and more accountable
institutions.
‘People have a range of reasons for going to
university but it is vital that they have the information at their fingertips
to make well-informed decisions about what and where to study. We want to see
the best possible match between universities and students.’
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