Students worrying about 'value for money' miss the point of an arts degree

University towns are already awash with fur-trimmed gowns and proud parents, but behind the smiles there’s a glimmer of resentment: four in 10 of those graduating this year think they’ve been ripped-off.

According to a survey of 1000 final-year students by ComRes, students are split over whether they think their degree was good value for money. One factor determining their verdict was their subject, with two-thirds of those studying science, technology, engineering and maths saying their course was worth the fees. Just 44 per cent of humanities and social science students agreed.

An obvious reason for this discrepancy is contact time: medics get at least 20 contact hours a week at most universities, while the average is closer to eight for those studying subjects like English or History. I study History at Oxford, and I reckon I had about 15 hours with academics over the course of the entire summer term.