University of Manchester visit

Lord Browne and Rajay Naik met with students from the University of Manchester during their visit on 28 January.

The students raised a number of issues including what motivated them to go to university, the quality of their tuition and their broader student experience, living costs and graduate employment prospects.

Some felt paying tuition fees made students more conscientious about getting what they wanted from higher education; others felt that, despite the additional income fees had brought universities, aspects of their experience – such as large class sizes – meant that students didn’t feel fully valued by institutions. Most though were very positive about having had the opportunity to go to university, and some discussed the importance of outreach to schools, to encourage others to consider higher education as an option for them.

The students presented Lord Browne with an open letter to the Review, which is published along with the other call for evidence submissions.

Photographs: Hafsah Saadiqah