The news is full of the reduction in applications the University today, with something of an element of glee about it.

BBC Radio Five Live reported at length on the article during Victoria Derbyshire’s show this morning. The news reporter was very keen to point out that;

Students are having to think about what they study

and

people are weighing up whether having a degree is what they want in life

as well as

students are having to consider the viability of debt before applying

This, by the news reporting, is a pejorative, but I see all of these things is a desirable outcome from increasing tuition fees. Only students that would really want a degree are going to apply, only students who are 100% certain about what they want to study or how they want to live their lives are going to apply and students are developing strong rational thinking skills by actively thinking about the debt they are going to get themselves into.

Unlike the previous Labour administration, I do not consider 50% of people going to university to be a good thing. I met far too many people when I myself was a university who was studying subjects of which they had no interest in pursuing a career. The right wing papers will often refer to the vast number of Mickey Mouse degrees, such as media studies, social sciences and tourism.

When I interviewed Vince Cable, he spoke of his concern at the number of parents he spoke to who still thought that they would have to pay £30,000 up front. This is a classic example of a society that is dependent on headlines are unable to read into the detail. To counter this, the government is running a series of roadshows around the country to educate students and parents about the finer details of the proposals. It includes the fact that students commencing in 2012 will be paying back far less on a monthly basis than graduates who are currently repaying their loans at the moment.

Of course, one must wonder when the student should be considering university if they cannot read the finer detail on the increased fee system and understand that they will, in fact, be far better off.

I will be interested to see the increase in applications for part-time students and mature students, who will finally be entitled to the same loan scheme that full-time students and this should greatly assist in reducing social divide among those at university.