Do we still value University degrees?
Are university degrees now meritless and undervalued by employees?
Previous generations looked at higher education as a major investment which was highly valued by both society and employees. In previous generations, higher education came with the promise of job security and a fast track to increased salary but as time passes university degrees are becoming an undervalued prerequisite for a base starting salary.
People comment that students are working less for their degrees but expecting more and perhaps this is the truth. The reality of a degree from a Russell Group university in 2023 is to experience archaic teaching styles, dated content and a lack of focus on real world applications. Yet, if this is what top universities are offering should students be committing to tertiary education to secure top level employment? Whilst many top hospitality schools are forging the way with a future focused approach and dynamic, diverse teaching the question still remains why is this excellence considered the anomaly rather than the new normal?
To paraphrase a university contemporary “In two weeks of university I usually have a maximum of fifteen hours of face-to-face timetabled lectures or laboratory time, which is already very low in terms of contact hours, yet last week three of my five lectures were cancelled.” This statement is not an unknown concept to many students, and it obviously poses the question as to what achieving a university degree really means in 2023. Universities now highlight their emphasis on ‘student-based learning’ but is this just a cliched way of saying that fewer academic staff are delivering expert-led instruction? During the pandemic, thousands of students in the UK were forced to complete university degrees online, with little assistance and no in-person teaching, which for many practical degrees means huge areas of undertraining and limited expertise.
Additionally, Covid saw the transformation of University assessments from exam halls to online. Not only should we be questioning how we measure learning but also how employers can trust that graduates have achieved a level of education which was previously enforced.
Therefore, should young people commit to financing and completing degrees that are becoming less valued and less rigorous in their delivery? Perhaps an emphasis should be placed on businesses to establish in-house training and development programs which can assist young people to receive relevant real-world skills that will equip them to thrive in the fast paced, dynamic hospitality industry.
The reality is if universities wish to continue to be relevant and a valued part of education they must be pushing forward to offer education which is directly useful to the individual rather than a stepping-stone certification which is required but not valued. Alternatively, maybe the era of university educations being regarded so highly needs to be re-evaluated with more emphasis on companies investing in the further professional development of their staff.
This being said, is the current system with some improvements adequate or does it need to be overhauled, creating room for new age tertiary education?
