The Impact of Massification of the Higher Education Sector on the Idea of a Degree in the UK

This study investigates whether the messages sent by academic institutions of different status in their prospectuses about the idea of a degree have changed over the period of massification in the UK 1976-2013. The study concludes that there are differing identifiable discourse topics, and these have changed over the period, especially away from a traditional liberal higher education to a focus on graduate employment. The major change found over the period is an increase in the homogenisation of marketing materials, which enhanced the coding of institutional status, and as a result now requires increased support for prospective students.