University funding and finances
The £1.1 billion annual investment in science capital announced in last month’s spending round is the biggest “for decades” and must not be wasted.
More than 19,000 extra students have applied to university this year compared to 2012, new figures show.
The University of Manchester has become the latest university to launch a bond issue to raise money for capital investments.
Andy Westwood on the shift from ‘human’ to ‘intellectual’ capital
Offa chief: £150m committed by universities now part of access agreements
Council gives go-ahead to consider using bond to fill gap left by public funding cuts
The Cardiff government’s policy of subsidising Welsh student fees when they study elsewhere in the UK has been attacked by the Welsh Conservatives, who say it is siphoning money to English universities.
The European Union’s next research and innovation funding programme, known as Horizon 2020, looks set to begin on schedule next year
Announcement comes as new details emerge about increased science capital budget
US-style charges await in unregulated system, education expert warns
Universities need clear protocols for accepting money - particularly from outside the UK, argues Chris Higgins
Protection for science and research spending will be maintained in 2015-16 while the capital budget will be increased to £1.1 billion, the chancellor George Osborne announced today.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has predicted that the new higher education funding regime will harm the creditworthiness of some UK universities, widening the gap between the “strongest and weakest”.
The US has reclaimed its position as the biggest spender on higher education, as rising fees pushed it clear in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s annual figures.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has reached a settlement with the Treasury in negotiations over the 2015-16 spending review, reports suggest
Sources say switch of medical education and research budgets to Department of Health increasingly unlikely
Martin McQuillan warns of a possible Manhattan Project for the sector
Universities deciding mechanisms to apportion RCUK cash
Cuts to widening participation funds anticipated to meet spending review targets
Vince Cable, the business secretary, says he has “ruled out categorically” any rise in interest rates for graduates who took out student loans before 2012, while stressing that plans for a sale of student loans are ongoing
The government should urgently clarify its plans for the sale of the student loan book and reassure existing graduates that their repayments will not be raised, according to Labour’s shadow higher education minister.
Just four European countries spend less as a proportion of national income
IPPR report offers stark warning over £6,000 plans
Ministers should extend student loans to many more part-time students to remedy a “crisis” in recruitment, a thinktank commission is set to recommend
Parallel sectors would overcome problems of ‘one-size-fits-all’ funding, group argues
Despite loss of teaching grant, universities must still comply with enrolment targets
Minister and BIS take close interest in study with enormous policy implications
Groups of universities could raise funding for postgraduate student loans by issuing bonds, a report by the thinktank CentreForum has suggested.
Moving medical education and research funding to the Department of Health would “pose a significant threat to the UK’s leading position” in the fields, medical schools have warned George Osborne.
Russell Group’s latest members have agreed to stump up £500,000 each
Stay-at-home students who attend a local university should be eligible for cut-price tuition fees of £5,000 a year, according to an influential commission of higher education experts
Lowering tuition fees to £6,000 – a policy put forward by Labour - could cost the Treasury the same as the current £9,000 set-up, a study has claimed.
Full disclosure could break competition law, conference hears
Institutions consider projects to take advantage of VAT exemption
£9,000 limit poses threat to quality and income, conference hears
Treatment to avoid cuts would do more harm than good, critics say
Alastair Bonnett visits Lincoln’s Social Science Centre, a cooperative, free university attempting to build a different kind of knowledge economy
Less than 10 years since their introduction, tuition fees will soon disappear from the country. Frances Mechan-Schmidt reports
Nation likely to lose fruitful position in UK research system, experts say
Universities minister David Willetts has defended the student finance system against criticisms that it is unsustainable and will not bring in the amount of money required to fund the sector long term.
Body defends science and social mobility funds from spending review
UK universities must form business partnerships to demonstrate the need for public investment. By Elizabeth Gibney
Sixteen UK higher education institutions are to benefit from a £50 million investment in research projects designed to drive economic growth, the universities and science minister has said.
The government’s innovation agency the Technology Strategy Board will see a £50 million boost to its budget this year, the government has announced.
V-c believes ‘radical solution’ is the way to rise up the rankings. John Morgan reports
Details have been released about proposals to allow universities in England to win more undergraduate places if they can show they are recruiting strongly.
Leader sought to guide Hefce through period of upheaval
Fossil Free urges universities to dump holdings in fuel companies
Universities are to benefit from a reduced administrative burden in supplying information about their costs, but government pressure to give more of such data to students has met with a cool response.
Existing legislation fails to cover Student Loans Company cash
The rest of the world thinks so, says Hefce funding chief
Geraldine Van Bueren says international law could help opponents of rising tuition costs in their battle
School pupils from poorer backgrounds could be contacted by the government to nudge them towards applying to university if they get good GCSE grades, David Willetts has said.
UUK chief looks to impact to save budget from Augean economy
Wales’ institutions gain funds as a result of cross-border flow under new fees regime
Gurminder Bhambra supports the students and staff contesting the hollowing-out of the University of Sussex’s collegial ideals
Steve Smith warns of looming budgetary issues that could send institutions off the road
It is morally wrong to deny University of Sussex students 24/7 support from flexible, professional campus services, says John Duffy
A huge cut to the Australian higher education budget announced just months before the next federal election is the largest since 1996, according to umbrella body Universities Australia.
Could a Welsh institution’s success offer insights to help stragglers catch up?
