A University Education - Hardcover

Stimulating... this book is full of wise and witty observations. (David Goodhart, Standpoint)

An impressively researched and evidence-based book. (Michael Beloff, Times Literary Supplement)

Thought provoking book. (Nigel Wilson, The Telegraph)

Excellent book. (Education Journal)

This is one of the few books that everyone interested in education ― and not just higher education ― should have a copy of... This book is excellent. Well researched and intelligently argued, it is an authoritative account of English universities setting them in their historical, legal and regulatory framework... It deserves to be widely read by anyone with an interest in education. (Education Journal)

A brilliant book, and one anyone interested in higher education should read even if they blame its author for being one of the architects of the current English funding system. This book is enough to make you wish David Willetts were still the universities minister because - and surely even people who disagree with him recognise this - he loves and cherishes them, and wants more of our young people from all backgrounds to be able to get the higher education they want and that will serve them well. (Diane Coyle, www.enlightenmenteconomics.com)

An ex-minster's love letter to universities offers an optimistic verdict. (Howard Davies, Prospect)

Peppered with entertaining and enlightening asides and illustrations... a treasure-house. (Kevin Stannard, Conference and Common Room)

A masterly exploration of the modern higher education institution... Willetts has provided us with a text for our times. (Matthew D'Ancona, Evening Standard)

A reader may wish for a more thorough investigation of potential solutions to these problems. But A University Education is nevertheless an admirably clear analysis of English higher education. To its credit, it is an inversion of most writing about English universities, which tends to be laudatory of the Oxbridge model and unduly sceptical of others. Lord Willetts's book is all the more interesting for it. (Economist)

Universities have a crucial role in the modern world. In England entrance to universities is by nation-wide competition which means English universities have an exceptional influence on schools - a striking theme of the book. This important book first investigates the university as an institution and then tracks the individual on their journey to and through university. In A University Education, David Willetts presents a compelling case for the ongoing importance of the university, both as one of the great institutions of modern society and as a transformational experience for the individual. The book also makes illuminating comparisons with higher education in other countries, especially the US and Germany.

Drawing on his experience as UK Minister for Universities and Science from 2010 to 2014, the author offers a powerful account of the value of higher education and the case for more expansion. He covers controversial issues in which he was involved from access for disadvantaged students to the introduction of £9,000 fees. The final section addresses some of the big questions for the future, such as the the relationship between universities and business, especially in promoting innovation.. He argues that the two great contemporary trends of globalisation and technological innovation will both change the university significantly.

This is an authoritative account of English universities setting them for the first time in their new legal and regulatory framework.