Value Added Degrees in the News

The Economist recently published a guide to which Universities add the most value to their undergraduates. We’re pleased to say that Solent did rather well.

Their investigation predicted what graduates would be likely to have earned regardless of their University education based on several factors such as their subjects and exam results from school, age, family income, whether they were privately or state educated and where the University was located. They then compared this to actual earnings to determine the value added.

Solent University was ranked 12th in Britain overall with an average of £1,637 added to graduates’ salaries. It’s not clear where Media Technology sits within their programme categories but Engineering boasts £3,238 of value added, with actual earnings of £31,000.

The article describes how some less reputable Universities are able to convert “bad grades into good jobs” and comments how successful links with industry are key. This certainly fits within the widening participation agenda at Solent and we absolutely believe in the value and transformative power of industry engagement on the Media Technology programme.

The results of the investigation produce an interesting contrast to those of the recent Teaching Excellence Framework, which relied on more traditional performance metrics. The article also introduces another thought-provoking comment about the relative expense of running engineering degrees – it highlights how this may currently make them less financially attractive for institutions to run despite the posited higher-value to students.

It’s nice to see the conversation continuing over what makes a ‘good’ University. Where to study is a huge once-only decision for undergraduates and it’s important that we find a way to provide meaningful guidance.

Original article:

Anon, 2017. Which British universities do most to boost graduate salaries? The Economist, 12 August