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How the British university degree lost its value – Audio Long Reads

Never before has Britain had so many qualified graduates. And never before have their qualifications amounted to so little.

By Harry Lambert

Three years ago the New Statesman published a cover story showing how successive British governments have emaciated standards in UK university degrees, creating a generation of graduates with devalued qualifications, while costing the taxpayer billions. Since then, the “great university con” has continued unabated. Grade inflation has only increased, despite various declarations from ministers that something should be done to counter it. 

In this deeply researched and wide-ranging article, the New Statesman’s senior politics correspondent, Harry Lambert, wrote that the number of Firsts awarded at British universities has quadrupled since 1994. Now, three years on, that number has quintupled.

In this Audio Long Reads episode, Lambert argues that the forces driving this disintegration of academic standards remain in place. That is no surprise. The current system is useful for too many of those involved for the sector to agitate for change. But Britain is being sold short by this “university miracle” – of ever more students going into higher education, and more and more of them emerging with higher grades.

How did we reach this point? Why has the value of a British university degree become so diminished? This piece offers answers to the questions that successive waves of students and their parents have been asking for years.

This article was first published on newstatesman.com on 21 August 2019. You can read the text version here.

Written and read by Harry Lambert.

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
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Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
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