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Too many students are wasting their time and money on traditional arts degrees that are likely to leave them jobless, a group of Conservative MPs has warned.
In a new paper, the right-leaning Cornerstone group of Conservative MPs argued universities were becoming overcrowded with students who would not benefit from higher education study.
The paper, written by the Conservative MP for Canterbury and Whitstable, Julian Brazier, suggests that vocational degrees in subjects such as media studies provided students with better job prospects.
"Everybody has a story about golf-course management, equine studies or surfing technology. This paper will suggest, however, that such courses are not the major problem. Perhaps there is a debate to be had about whether overtly vocational courses should be classified as degrees, but many such courses have a good employment record," Mr Brazier's paper said.
"Everyone with the educational attainment to benefit from a degree course should have the opportunity to go to university - as [Conservative party leader] David Cameron has rightly said. But this paper will suggest that participation has already passed that point and growing numbers of those entering the higher education system are not benefiting from it."
Mr Brazier said universities were staffed by academics that were seriously underpaid and working under difficult circumstances.
"At the same time, much of the output from some of Britain's universities is unproductive, not just a waste of money but a waste of the students' time; over a third of students who enter higher education either drop out, become unemployed or settle into jobs for which a university degree has little value," he said.
The Conservative higher education spokesman, Boris Johnson, said he agreed with much of Mr Brazier's paper but the expansion of higher education was not necessarily a bad thing.
"People have got to think carefully about their degrees and whether they are worthwhile," Mr Johnson said.
Mr Brazier's paper said it was a concern that barely half of those who graduated from university in recent years followed careers that did not require a degree.
"In future, many, including a majority of those who do traditional arts subjects, are likely to make a substantial financial loss out of their time at university. The financial benefits from their studies will be either less than the cost of the course or even, in some cases, worth nothing in the job market at all."
However, Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said the document failed to acknowledge that not all graduates measure the value of their degrees purely in economic terms.
"The vast majority of graduates and employers also recognise the personal development opportunity that an undergraduate education offers. A point often overlooked in such analysis," said a spokesman.
"Some specific assertions in this report are not supported by the most recent studies into graduate employment. The suggestion that certain undergraduate courses are a waste of money is at odds with the findings of a number of recent surveys on the subject. For example, the recent Unite student experience survey showed that students continue to recognise the benefits of higher education with 89% believing the money they're spending to be a good investment for their future."
He added: "The latest evidence shows that employers continue to value graduates and are prepared to pay a premium that reflects this, with graduates in the UK enjoying the highest financial returns of any OECD country."
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