Which universities do most to boost graduate salaries?

THE Conservative-Lib Dem coalition analysed the data and created a ranking formed in 2010 wanted universities to that compares graduates’ wages with how expand. Much to the chagrin of thousands of youngsters, it got its way in 2012 by nearly trebling the tuition-fee ceiling to £9,000 ($14,000) a year. With students shouldering the bulk of the cost of teaching at universities, the government was able to remove the cap on the numbers that universities were allowed to accept. An additional benefit of the shift, hoped officials, was that increased competition for students should drive up standards.

保守党联合政府分析了数据并建立了自2010年以来的梦想进入的大学及其毕业生的未来工资的对比排名。使绝大多数的年轻人懊恼的是，在2010年学费的最高限度到了每年£9,000 ($14,000)。学生们承担了支付在大学中教学费用的重担，政府能够移除大学所接受的学费上限。对这种转变怀有信心的官员认为这样也可以提高学生们的标准。

summary

Lower tuition fee was assumed to lead to create more competent students.

                                                                                                                      ——Angelia

So far competition has not had that desired effect. Most universities charge the maximum, and there has been little change in the quality of teaching. In a bid to ensure that students and taxpayers get better value for money, the government has created a ranking, the “Teaching Excellence Framework” (TEF), which tries to categorise universities by their teaching quality, not their reputation. It hopes to be able to link the fees that universities may charge to instruction.

迄今为止，竞争没有想象中的效果。大多数大学收取最大上限,几乎没有教学质量的变化。为了确保学生和纳税人发挥钱的最大价值,政府创造了一个教学卓越框架（TEF）排名来将大学按照教学质量来排名而非名誉。这个事情旨在可以连接大学的费用及其提供的教育。

summary

Quality first,not reputation.

                                                                                                                      ——Angelia

One way to measure a university's impact is to look at earnings data, which the government also hopes to include in future versions of the TEF. On June 13th the Department for Education released the latest wave of its “longitudinal education outcomes” data, which analyse tax returns to show how much people earn five years after they graduate. To find out which factors are most relevant, The Economist has much they would have been expected to earn regardless of their university.

其中一个估测一个大学的影响的方法是看它的收入数据，政府也希望把这个纳入未来的TEF中。在6月3日教育部发布了最新“长期的教育支出”示意，分析了归还的显示了人们毕业五年后他们的收入的税款。去找出哪个因素与无论哪个学校毕业的人未来所赚取的金钱有最直接的关系。

Summary

Future earnings also can reflect .

                                                                                                                    ——Angelia

Our estimate of expected earnings is built from a statistical model that predicts wages based on the subjects people study, their exam results at school, age, family income, whether they went to private or state school and where the university was located. The difference between the predicted and actual amounts that students earn ought to reflect a university’s impact on graduate wages. Our analysis measures how well universities perform compared with the average institution, and is blind to their prestige.

我们对预期收入的估计建立在一系列数据框架上，其中包括了他们所选的专业，他们在学校的考试成绩，年龄，家庭收入，在私立学校或公立学校上学，他们大学所处的位置。对于预期的收入和真实的学生收入应该可以反应出一所大学对其毕业后收入的影响。我们的分析在忽视他们的声望的情况下衡量了大学与平均机构的表现。

summery

Reality comparing with the prediction,the result can reflect the impact brought by university.

                                                                                                                  ——Angelia

Wait, what about Oxbridge?

The rankings have their flaws. They are based on a single cohort of graduates, who left university in 2009 in the middle of a financial crisis. Using median earnings as a measure understates how much variability there is in graduates’ incomes, especially at the top. Nevertheless, the data offer a glimpse of which universities do most to boost earnings. Those at the top are a mix of the illustrious(Nottingham and Oxford) and the unfamiliar (Brunel and Robert Gordon)—see table following.

排名有其缺陷。 他们都是基于一群自2009年离开大学身处一场金融危机的毕业生。由于保守地使用中值收入作为衡量指标忽视了毕业生的收入的变化,尤其是那些最高收入。 然而,数据中提及最有助于促进收益的大学中排名靠前的是著名的大学，例诺丁汉和牛津，和对于我们陌生的大学，例布鲁内尔和Robert Gordon。

Summary

Despite defectiveness,ranking also points out outstanding universities can boost earning.

                                                                                                                  ——Angelia

Most of the differences in median earnings can be explained by just two factors: how selective a university is and what subjects their students choose to study there.

对于大多数中值收入的差异可以被两个因素解释，一个顶尖的大学和他们的学生在那里所选择的专业。

Once these are accounted for, graduates’ wages are remarkably predictable. Differences in entry tariffs, as defined by UCAS points mostly earned in exams taken at 18, account for nearly 70% of the variation in median earnings. Swots from Cambridge, the most selective university in Britain, earn almost £40,000 a year on average five years after graduating. Their peers at Bedfordshire, the country’s least-selective institution, make only half as much.

一旦这些因素被考虑，毕业生的工资能被预测也是显而易见的事情了。UCAS定义的不同入口关税指出主要是在18岁的考试中的不同，从而导致了未来70%中值收入的变化。来自作为英国最顶尖的剑桥大学的Swots,在五年毕业后平均每年有将近£40000的工作。他的同龄人在贝德福德郡的一个普通大学上学,赚的钱只有Swots的一半。

Summary

An exam wins a life.

                                                                                                    ——Angelia

Subjects which include some element of maths are well-rewarded. Our analysis finds that the five fields with the highest salaries are medicine, veterinary science, economics, engineering and mathematics. By contrast, creative arts, agriculture and communications graduates earn the least. There is a big difference between top earners and poorer ones. After half a decade, medicine and dentistry graduates earn £47,000 a year on average; creative-arts graduates just £20,000.

那些包括了数学元素的科目在未来将获得很好的回报。我们的数据表明五个最为赚钱的领域为医药，兽医，经济，工程和数学。相反，艺术，农业和交流的收入在最底层，在收入最高和最少的人群中有很大差异。在五年里，医药和牙医科毕业的学生能拿到一年平均£47,000的工资，艺术学毕业的学生只能拿到£20,000的工资。

Summary

A right choice on subject is equally important.

                                                                ——Angelia

Encouraging more students to sign up for maths-related degrees may be hard. One problem is that schools in Britain produce few maths whizzes compared with those in other countries, says Anna Vignoles, an economist at Cambridge. Portsmouth, which tops our rankings, provides remedial maths and literacy catch-ups for those needing them. Another difficulty is that universities are not allowed to vary their prices by subject, which means they have little incentive to nudge students towards courses like engineering or science, since it is cheaper to teach the humanities.

remdial adj.  补救的

incentive adj.不鼓励的

鼓励更多学生去报名和数学相关的学位可能是一件难事。在剑桥的一个经济学家Anna Vignoles说这件难事其中的一个问题是相比其他国家，英国几乎没有产生数学奇才。在我们最靠前的排名中朴茨茅斯为那些需要的人提供了补救数学和文学的机会。另一个难处在于大学不能使不同学科拥有不同的收费标准，这样的规定意味着他们不被鼓励去推动孩子去选择一些工程类科学类的学科因为教人文科学是很便宜的。

Summary

Conservative principles and the lack of example are obstacles.

                                                                                            ——Angelia 

Alison Wolf, an economist at King’s College London, worries that today’s financing system means the number flow quality courses will grow. A recent study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a think tank, found that funding per student for humanities and business courses has increased by 47% since the reforms of 2012 where as for laboratory sciences it has risen by just 19%. Yet although some business graduates earn a fortune, there is a large gap between those from higher- and lower-ranked universities. For instance, graduates who study economics and management at Oxford, the most lucrative course according to our data, can expect to be earning three times as much as their contemporaries at the least-selective universities five years after they leave.

lucrative adj.有用的

contemporary adj.同代人

一个在伦敦国王学院的经济学家Alison Wolf担心如今的经济体系意味着有质量的课程数量将变多。财政研究所的智囊团最近的研究发现每个学生人文和商业课程自2012年改革以来增加了47%,而实验科学仅上升了19%。尽管一些金融毕业生能赚到钱但是在高排名和低排名的大学有着很大的差距。例如，从牛津大学毕业的最有益的学科—金融管理学学生在五年后相比于上普通大学的同龄人获得三倍的薪水。

Summary

A famous college is important.

                                                                                           ——Angelia

Although graduates from research-intensive universities tend to earn more, research quality is no guarantee of a good performance in our rankings. Some of Britain’s grandest institutions do well. Oxford, which comes tenth, adds £1,900 to graduate earnings compared with the average university. But the top three universities—Portsmouth, Aston and Newman—are not often found leading the rankings.

grandest adj. 最显赫的

虽然从研究型大学毕业的毕业生往往会挣得更多,研究的排名并不能保证良好的质量。一些英国最著名的教育学院做得最好,排名第十的牛津大学与普通大学相比增加了£1,900。但是最顶尖的三个大学——朴茨茅斯，阿斯顿和纽曼——并非在排名榜上占据靠前的位置。

Less reputable universities may struggle to attract the brightest students, but they can do plenty to ensure that their graduates do well in the labour market. Many of the universities at the top of our rankings convert bad grades into good jobs. At Newman, a former teacher-training college on the out skirts of Birmingham, classes are small (the staff: student ratio is 16:1), students are few (around 3,000) and all have to do a work placement as part of their degree. (Newman became a university only in 2013, though it previously had the power to award degrees.)

reputable adj,声誉好的

声誉并非特别好的大学努力吸引最聪明的学生，但是他们可以付出很多去确保它们的毕业生在职场中占据一席之地。许多排名靠前的大学是将差成绩转变为好工作的机会。

Part of Newman’s excellent performance can be explained because more than half its students take education-related degrees, meaning many will work in the public sector. That is a good place for those with bad school grades. Indeed, in courses like education or nursing there is no correlation between earnings and the school grades a university expects(see chart).

correlation n.关联

纽曼大学部分最出色的表现能被接受为绝大多数的学生拿到了和教育有关的学位这将意味着许多人在公共部门工作。对于那些成绩并非优异的人的来说这是一个好职位。确实，像教育和护理这样的专业收入和成绩没有任何关系。

Other universities punch above their weight by establishing links with successful industries. At Southampton Solent, on England’s south coast, many students take degrees in courses related to the maritime industry. The university, which comes 12th in our rankings, has one of only five ship handling lakes in the world, where students can be trained using large-scale models of ships and yachts in a variety of conditions. Similarly, Bournemouth, which comes fourth, has strong links to the film industry and a global reputation for visual effects. John Fletcher, a senior administrator at the university, boasts: “We’ve won many Oscars.”

其他大学通过与一些成功的企业建立联系来增加自身的分量。在英格兰南海岸的Southampton Solent许多学生参加有关海事行业的课程。在我们排名榜上第12名的大学拥有五个可以处理船舶的湖中的一个，在那里学生可以训练大型船只。同样的，第四名的Bouremouth与一个电影公司有很密切的联系并且在视觉效果上有很大的名声。大学中一个高级管理者，John Fletcher自吹自擂说，我们已经赢得了很多奥斯卡。

Summary

Relationship can affect the ranking.

                                                                                             ——Angelia

Some things are beyond a university’s control. Graduates from universities in richer areas will tend to earn more—we estimate that, all else being equal, those from a typical university in Glasgow can expect to earn £4,200 a year less than graduates of a university in London. Our model attempts to account for geographical differences by being more generous to universities in poor parts of the country. That graduates from Durham and St Andrews, two highly selective universities far from London, fare so poorly is surprising given these adjustments.

而某些事情超出了大学的控制。从比较富裕地区的大学毕业的人将会收获更多，我们估计在其它条件全部相同的情况下，在Glasgow最好的大学毕业的人预期会比在伦敦任意一个大学毕业的人少赚￡4,200一年。我们的模型试图通过对于平穷地区的大学更加慷慨来解释地区差异。那些从Durham 和St Andrews两个顶尖大学毕业的学生如此糟糕的表现令人吃惊。

First-class universities

The reforms of 2012 increased funding for all universities, but may also have encouraged wasteful spending. Universities now have an incentive to invest in things that will lure more students. There has been a big rise in new buildings. In 2013 universities spent £2.4bn on construction, 43% more than a year earlier, and they have continued to spend at that level since. Spending on marketing has grown (Hull University has the naming rights to the local football team’s training ground, for instance). Surveys suggest that students are more satisfied with the state of their campuses, and some were shabby before the investment. But critics question whether this was the best use of extra cash.

Many universities at the top of our rankings are struggling to recruit enough students. This is partly because of the tough climate: there is a demographic dip in the number of18-year-olds, Brexit is reducing the numbers of European Union students and the abolition of nursing bursaries has had predictable consequences. Yet it also reflects the fact that many students choose their university on the basis of prestige, not teaching  quality. Much may depend on whether the government can begin to shift that calculation.

Even if it does, the importance of selectivity in determining graduate outcomes suggests that much of a university education is about “signaling”, rather than learning useful skills. This is no bad thing if it makes it easier for employers to spot the best employees, making the labour market more efficient. But, since there has been little improvement in teaching quality, it is not clear how much students have benefited from the increased fees.

Two years ago we built an American ranking using a similar methodology. In comparing the two countries, we find that the school gradesof18-year-oldsare a closer predictor of future earnings in Britain than in America. This helps students, because earnings data can provide guidance about what to study, and where. It also helps policymakers, because the analysis shows that it is not always the famous universities that make the biggest difference. Focusing too much attention on elite universities may be ill-advised if much of their success is attributable to the caliber of students they attract. It can be better to study what goes on in Portsmouth and Aston than in Oxford and Cambridge.

Britain The Economist August 12th 2017