The Good Universities Guide (a CMM advertiser) first appeared in the early ‘90s, when the Dawkins system was getting going. As universities have expanded enrolments and changed how they teach, the guide has grown with them – providing information for starting students on what it all means. But what has stayed the same is privilege, understanding what higher education is all about is easier for young people whose friends and family know how the system works.

So good for the GUG in introducing a new performance metric in this year’s edition – universities with the highest per centage of starting students who are first in family to take on the challenge of higher education, universities that recognise their obligation to assist them survive the shock of the new. It’s also a metric that sets a base for providers-there is no point starting study, the success is completing. The more information available on what are good universities for all sorts of students, the better.