The biggest victims seem to be prospective students in countries like India, where the lower cost of a degree or course offered by the fakes is a big draw compared to the sky-rocketing cost of a traditional or more well known university.

A lot of people find themselves taking out loans to cover the costs of tuition – which while cheaper can still run into the thousands easily – and end up with nothing to show for it at the end. Then they have to get jobs and further loans to either pay off the initial loan or to continue to learn in a real university or college.

In a cruel twist of fate, a good portion of those taking advantage of the foreign students duped into enrolling  are actually foreign nationals themselves.

The government is continuing to promise to crack down further, but it is unknown as of yet what effect this will have as the organisations pop up as quick as they are shut down. So, a word of warning is to investigate any college or university you are thinking of paying for courses and ensure that you don’t become one of the unlucky people snared in the trap.

Obviously certain careers are only achievable through formal education at a university – predominantly scientific and medical fields. Others have two aspects to them, such as music and drama, and you can get into the business without needing any formal education whatsoever. Others, though, are less cut-and-dry. I think the biggest examples these days are jobs in the computing field and other creative industries such as design.

The alternatives are wide-ranging though. You can take anything from a vocational course, apprenticeship or other study-while-you-work scheme and still end up where you want to be. The benefits in many cases vastly outweigh the shortfalls, as I will outline now.

• A lot of people take a piece of paper from a university to mean more than it really does. All it says is that you are technically good at absorbing the right information and regurgitating it when asked, along with a set amount of solo and team work thrown in. While degree courses vary in the amount of your final grade being made up by traditional examinations, prospective employers most likely won’t know the subtle differences and most likely won’t care.
• Education is expensive, learning whilst being paid isn’t. If you can learn the same stuff as your university friend at the same pace, but be paid for doing so in the process, who will be happier I wonder! University is incredibly expensive these days in many countries and living costs can make it even harder. Juggling a part-time job, university and coursework may well end up acting as a detriment to your abilities.
• You could end up with the same skills as a recent graduate after a similar amount of time, but without debt and with a nice chunk of experience on your CV. While they spent 3 years in university blowing their cash on a good time with no real experience to show for it, you could have 3 years experience, a lot more cash to blow on a good time and a network of associates to help you in the industry.
• A degree doesn’t show someone your commitment to work. If you go to an employer and show that you have worked your way up from the very bottom as an apprentice or something similar, then you are showing them that you have the work ethic that a lot of university students do not possess. It could well swing you the interview and help land the job.

There are so many reasons for a more vocational-oriented learning experience, but never forget that a formal education can really open your mind to new ways to do things, new people and place and many other benefits. It really is up to you what you choose, but remember that not everyone will flourish in the same environment!

So, just how hard is it to become a lawyer or doctor these days? While I was at university, I certainly remember a great deal of the students undertaking degrees in medicine and law were what you would refer to as the ‘privileged’ classes. However, this wasn’t a given.

In essence, the government wants opportunities to be opened up for those from less affluent backgrounds so that they may go into more financially demanding education. Some commentators say this won’t fix the problem as it isn’t the poorer families which are being hit, or the richer ones for that matter – it is the traditional ‘middle class’ family who’s income means they do not get assistance from the government to send their children to private schools or university, but also can find it hard to afford all these additional costs as they are not as wealthy as those from the richer families.

So how hard is it – are you a student in a professional field right now? Do you have relatives in this situation, and how are they finding it?

The UK government have released figures which show that the numbers applying for university places have risen by 9% since 2009 (around 40,000 places) but the number of actual places have only risen by around 3,000. This shows that the competition for even getting into university is increasing, much the same as competition in the jobs market for those at the end of their university education.

Many contributing factors are cited but the newest among them is that more and more school and college leavers are deciding to ’sit out’ the recession by undertaking a degree, in the hope that once they have left university the worst of the crisis will be long gone and the job market will have opened up again.

This isn’t the only area of education which is being hit, though. Figures have been released which show the level of financial wastage incurred in state-run schools and colleges due to use of agency workers and consultants to cover teacher absences. Demand for college places has also increased in line with the above university demand and more schemes are being launched in order to plunge millions of pounds into education so young people can cope with the recession.

Whenever the economic climate improves, it could well be worth looking back at the costs incurred in the education sector and how the benefits gained weigh up against them. What could seem like a blessing now (more people with qualifications and skills) may well end up backfiring through devaluing of those qualifications or a shift in skills, rendering the whole situation an expensive mistake.

The new policies being outlined by the government involve the student not paying any tuition fees whilst being exempt from any form of government-provided subsidy, loans or grants during this period. The understanding is that for those who plan to stay at home while they take their degree can avoid the unnecessary loans for living costs and have no tuition fees as a bonus. This will supposedly support those from low-income households, enabling them to go to university without racking up tens of thousands in debt.

University education in the UK was based upon the system of grants to cover tuition fees until 1998 when tuition fees were introduced, alongside a system of student loans and means-tested grants to cover living costs along with the new fees. Then in 2006, things changed again. This time, top-up fees were introduced on top of the conventional fees (which were limited to around £1,250/year) which could be anywhere from £0 to over £3000 per year. This has driven the cost of completing a 3 year university degree to well over £20,000 for a lot of students, once living costs are taken into account.

While this is still very much at the planning, wouldn’t-it-be-nice phase, there are rumours that it could well go all the way and is under serious consideration. Watch this space!