An overly narrow focus on graduate employment risks “skewing” British higher education policy and society more broadly, a vice-chancellor has warned.

Ken Sloan, vice-chancellor of Harper Adams University, warned that the UK was “on the cusp” of creating a skills system based around a limited number of disciplines prioritised in the government’s industrial strategy and whether a graduate’s career was classified by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as being “highly skilled”.

For example, funding will only be available under England’s lifelong learning entitlement for disciplines such as computing, engineering and mathematical sciences.

Sloan told ̽����Ƶ’s Student Success UK&IE 2025 event that his institution, which focuses on agricultural and rural courses, had very strong graduate employment metrics but not necessarily into careers that are being classed as highly skilled.

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He called for greater consideration for the emotional and civic benefits of higher education, warning: “If we don’t start answering that question, then there is a risk that we will put a skewed value on a limited number of careers.

“We won’t get the balance of input into our society that enables communities to form, and…I would say we’ve got a disproportionate representation of the type of institutions and the type of students that go into those types of degrees.

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“I think we’re at a pivotal moment because if we skew everything in the particular direction of what is new and what is innovative we may end up with a vibrant economic economy and society, but I think we run the risk of having a much more fragmented society where students have been nudged into a direction which actually is not [addressing] all of the areas that society needs.”

Gianina Harvey-Brewin, dean of continuing education at the University of Roehampton, expressed concern about the excessive focus on the Graduate Outcomes survey tracking university leavers’ employment status 15 months after graduation.

“That has an impact on how then your resources are deployed because metrics are what the university needs to focus on: league tables, student recruitment, that’s where they see the impact,” she said.

“So if you are only focusing on that 15 months, that’s where the money is going to flow…and you risk missing a lot of other really valuable development points.”

Sean Brophy, a senior lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan Business School who researches graduate employment, said universities needed to do a better job of helping students in traditional academic disciplines such as history and philosophy to “articulate how their degree connects to broader outcomes without reducing the degree to mere job training”.

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“That means helping students form a narrative about their learning, skills, and what graduate success might look like beyond earnings,” Brophy said.

“It also means universities thinking about themselves, as large employers, as educators of future managers, as agents that can embed good practice in what work and career progression means.”

Panellists were also asked for their views on the Westminster government’s proposal to develop a measure mapping students’ university outcomes to their entry grades, similar to the “Progress 8” metric used to assess secondary schools.

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They expressed support for the principle but questioned whether such a measure could accurately capture the range of qualifications and backgrounds that students bring to higher education.

“I’m not against it. I just think it’s not possible at the moment,” said Harvey-Brewin.

“But the idea that we [could] have some more targeted data looking at an individual’s baselines against what they can achieve by the end of their degree or programme is something I quite like.”

“There are some institutions, when it comes to the breadth of possible starting points for higher education, that are carrying the weight compared to others in the sector,” Sloan said.

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“And I think there has to be a way of showing that because there is a risk, if you just have a uniform view on what a successful outcome is for a student…that becomes a constraining measure in in its own right.”

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com