On 3 July, Dr Brooke Storer-Church wrote to Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith, Minister of State for Skills, responding to her on higher education outcomes and quality following the publication of the DfE-commissioned Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report on the impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings.
In our response, we welcome efforts to describe the value of higher education, but caution against conclusions that align that value with salaries alone and we state our opposition to limiting courses based on this measure, without regard to the wider benefits to individuals and society.