Top names, top whack: new humanities-focused institution to charge £18K fees
A new private university college is to be launched, specialising in the arts and humanities and charging tuition fees of £18,000 a year.
The privately funded New College of the Humanities will be based in Bloomsbury in London. It will admit its first undergraduates in October 2012, offering degrees validated by the University of London.
It is being established by a stable of well-known academics, led by philosopher A.C. Grayling and including Richard Dawkins, Simon Blackburn and Niall Ferguson.
It will offer degrees in law, economics, history, philosophy and English literature, and students will also be required to take three “intellectual skills” modules in science literacy, logic and critical thinking and applied ethics.
The college will also teach “practical professional skills” such as financial literacy, teamwork and presentation, which are designed to improve employment prospects.
The model is a striking addition to the UK higher education sector, and appears to be a direct response to the government’s call for new providers to enter the market.
It will offer one-to-one tutorials and 12-13 contact hours per week, and is guaranteeing a student-teacher ration of better than 10 to one.
However, while private providers are often spoken of as a way to drive down prices, the £18,000 fee is twice the £9,000-a-year maximum that publicly funded institutions will be permitted to charge from 2012.
Professor Grayling, who is professor of philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, said fees at the new college would be the same for UK and overseas students, and that over 30 per cent of students would receive financial support. In the first year this support would range from a full scholarship to assisted places charged at £7,200 a year.
Speaking on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, he suggested that the college was being launched as a direct response to the government’s decision to withdraw public funding from higher education in general, and the arts and humanities in particular.
However, Baroness Blackstone, vice-chancellor of the University of Greenwich and former Labour education secretary, claimed that it would be “an institution for the very rich, a few people with bursaries and overseas students”.
She added: “As such, I would say don’t go near it. There are many good universities that will continue to offer the humanities…£18,000 a year for humanities courses is extraordinarily high. I think it’s a very bad deal. The things [the college] is going to provide are in fact already provided at other good universities.”
john.gill@tsleducation.com
Readers' comments (5)
06 Jun 2011 11:18am
Jamie's Dream School had more academic credibility and social integrity. Good discussion thread developing on this at http://crookedtimber.org/2011/06/06/if-youre-an-egalitarian-how-come-youre-trying-to-sell-an-undergraduate-arts-degree-that-costs-more-than-an-mba/#comments
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06 Jun 2011 12:03pm
Go on treat yourself, look at the entrance requirements and read the sales pitch for the diploma's http://www.nchum.org/courses/minimum-entrance-requirements Still worried that this is a dagger pointed at the heart of UK Universities? It boils down to this "Are you rich and feel special but will current Universities really treat you special? Cough up 18K and your are special! Don't worry about your intellect we see the special qualities masked by your dismal A levels despite the best private education money could buy. Feel the exclusivity, remember NCH is not just for anyone!" Fellow scientists have a look at this course "Science Literacy The aim of this course is to develop an intelligent insight into central areas of science, principally cosmology, fundamental physics and quantum theory, evolutionary biology, genetics and human evolution. The course is designed to be taught to non-scientists, requiring minimal mathematical skills.." Quantum theory with minimal maths, ho ho ho. Fundamental physics and cosmology for the non specialist. I guess that rules out red shifting, Quasars, relativistic gravity then? I laughed at loud at this one. This is snake oil but the sort of people who can afford it, they deserve it. No harm done here! If we taught this stuff at our place, we'd be highlighted by THE as 'Pre1992 teaches Micky Mouse Physics'. 'IoP Director denounced dumbing down of quantum physics etc '
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06 Jun 2011 2:06pm
For those who have the urge to make an application take a look at the website! http://www.nchum.org Very good to see they... 1]embedded the correct social, ethnic and gender mix into the selected diversity of professorial leadership...12 white males, 1 woman and 1 asain... 2]already outsourced student support services to a phone line! brilliant! http://www.nchum.org/student-life/support-network with direct link http://www.nightline.org.uk/ ".....Whatever your worry or problem, there will always be someone there to help!"
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07 Jun 2011 12:00pm
UoL Press Release makes everything clear: http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/media/press_releases/new_college_humanities.shtml In short: There is no formal agreement between the University of London and the NCH concerning academic matters. ..To avoid any confusion, it should be made clear that NCH is not, and will not be, a part of the University of London. Meanwhile it is legitimate for NCH, as an entirely independent institution, to provide tuition to students of University of London International Programmes as other institutions in London and around the world do. These students’ applications for registration for degrees would be made individually with the University of London International Programmes. No agreement has been concluded as yet regarding access to the Senate House Libraries by NCH students, but financial terms exist for the payment of fees for access by any students of University of London International Programmes and this would, of course, apply to students of NCH. The position is similar for the University of London Union, and it should be noted that all students of the University of London International Programmes are eligible for associate membership for a payment of £20 per annum, but are not eligible to compete competitively in University sports teams.
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07 Jun 2011 2:30pm
I have been intrigued to see the focus on the philosophy of learning promoted by Professor Grayling at the new college – and the parallels with the International Baccalaureate learner profile. I’ve blogged about this at http://bit.ly/mLoSLy @RelocateEdu
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