The glittering prize

As an academic I always felt reassured, rewarded and strangely happy at the bi- annual graduation ceremony. It's not just about dressing up in quasi ecclesiastical garb and prancing about on stage (although that does appeal). It's also about meeting the parents, seeing students in reasonably decent clothes and taking bets on which of them will topple off their impossibly high heels and land in the  Vice Chancellor's lap as they totter across the stage.

Picture by David Castillo Dominici at freedigitalphotos.net

For a number of years I have had the pleasure of handing certificates to graduates as they leave the stage. I have even taken the place of the Dean and announced the names - my pronunciation and pace were remarked upon by the Pro Vice Chancellor.

And yet...

3 or 4 years work - even hard work, a potential £50,000 in debt and conflicting evidence of the "graduate premium" that will make it financially worthwhile..........eventually.
And, to top that - a maximum of 5 years credibility through being able to offer that same certificate to employers who may well filter applicants by University name, then degree class, then other criteria.

So, no wonder students and employers are considering other routes to graduation.  Apprenticeships, School Leaver programmes and Corporate Universities are alternatives to the traditional University experience.

The degree certificate is no longer, by itself, the currency that graduates need. Indeed it is an entry ticket. The glittering prize is just how well and fully students learn and mature and develop skills whilst pursuing a subject that really interests them.