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Students would pay more fees in exchange for a graduate job, new survey shows
Research from University Partnership Programme (UPP) shows that 73% of students and applicants would be prepared to pay higher fees if it guaranteed them a graduate-level job when they complete their degree. UPP is a specialist accommodation provider and to date has invested £2 billion in the Higher Education sector. Their research found that on average, students and applicants said that they would be prepared to pay an extra £1726 for a leg-up the career ladder. When asked how they would like this extra fee money to be spent they identified better employability programmes as an investment priority. This could include sandwich programmes and work placements.
The finding comes from UPP’s annual Student Experience Survey, conducted by Research Academy. It reinforces a set of findings showing that employability and work-readiness are increasingly important to both students and university applicants in terms of their overall perception of the value of an undergraduate education. Focus groups with students identified four areas where students felt there was significant room for improvement in terms of the employability offer of their institutions.
Jon Wakeford, Director of Strategy at UPP and a member of the Higher Education Commission said:
“UPP are committed to helping our partners to improve the student experience in the round, which is why we undertake this research annually. It is clear from this year’s findings that employability and work-
readiness are becoming more and more important to both students and applicants – perhaps reflecting the way in which rising fees have impacted on young people’s understanding of value for money in higher education. I’m looking forward to discussing these findings in the sector, so that UPP can better understand what can be done to help ensure students feel they are being prepared for the world of work by their degrees.”
Nick Hillman, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute and former SpAd to Higher Education Minister David Willetts said: “This important research shows students are both rational and apprehensive. They recognise higher education delivers excellent outcomes on average but they also – quite rightly – want to ensure they benefit personally from a rewarding student experience and a fulfilling career afterwards. That is as it should be, given the time and money they are devoting to studying. Higher education is a transformative experience for most students, but it is always important to listen to students’ views about what can be better and to ensure prospective students know what to expect. I wholeheartedly welcome this report because it reveals what students want as the higher education environment continues to change.”
www.upp-ltd.com
UK schools get their wellies on for Africa-themed welly walk
This autumn term Farm Africa is inviting primary school children across the UK to get their wellies on for a huge sponsored welly walk to help farmers in Africa give hunger the boot.
Taking part in Farm Africa’s Great African Welly Walk couldn’t be easier with no plane tickets or passports required! No walk is too short – schools can march around their playground, trek across school fields or go on a cross- country stroll.
Teachers and pupils can track their school’s welly miles by going onto the Farm Africa online Welly Miles Tracker, adding the miles they have walked and downloading a personalised certificate. And with more schools taking part in the Great African Welly Walk every year, Farm Africa has big ambitions that the total number of welly miles covered will be the equivalent of walking the entire coast of Africa, that’s 16,000 miles!
To help pupils learn more about food, farming and Africa whilst they fundraise, Farm Africa has created a range of engaging classroom resources which are available to download from the Farm Africa website at
www.farmafrica.org/wellywalk. The pack includes a range of lesson plans linked to the National Curriculum, a colourful poster containing a map of Africa with fascinating facts about the continent, thought-provoking real life stories about African farmers, and lots of fundraising ideas. It’s all free to use and perfect for teaching children topics such as “Africa” or “farming”. Tettenhall College in Wolverhampton is just one of many schools which have already got in on the wellytastic fun, as their college librarian and charity coordinator Deborah Liddle explains:
“Our younger pupils did the welly walk and we gave it a safari feel by hiding pictures of African animals that they had to find along the walk. The children really loved spotting the animals and we tied it into what they were learning in class. Wearing their wellies made it feel special and they understood they were raising money to help people living in Africa. It was a really nice event and a simple idea that didn’t take much work to organise. We got the whole school involved, including parents, and so it was something fun for everyone.”
www.farmafrica.org/wellywalk 4
www.education-today.co.uk October 2015
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