How Big is the Univers-ity ?

This morning’s “A”-level results tell us very little we didn’t already know with improving grades and more evidence that girls are smarter than boys.

The problem now is what to do with all these aspiring students. Universities have been forced to cut back on places due to budget cuts and it’s estimated that some 150,000 potential students will not find a place with the old standby of UCCA swamped by enquiries and only 18,000 course places on offer.

One option is for students to get some form of work – ideally paid but this is an opportunity for employers to offer work experience for students. It’s fashionable for the young and wealthy to have a “gap” year and go off travelling round the world but an equally constructive alternative would be to take up placements in local businesses.

Should we be encouraging students to look at business as an alternative to University ? Three years of study and a huge student loan might have its attractions and at present paid work is hard to come by but should we not reward companies and businesses that offer meaningful placements for students and shouldn’t we reward the students themselves who take them up with a credit against their fees ?