UK: Spending on universities slashed

English universities are facing massive cuts for the first time in a decade at a time when demand for places is increasing. The Higher Education Funding Council for England told vice-chancellors last week that around £215 million ($342.5 million) will be sliced off teaching budgets in 2010-11.

Spending on science, technology, engineering and maths, the so-called Stem subjects, however, will be safeguarded. Individual institutions will learn details of their grant allocations on 18 March.

Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive of Hefce, said: "This is a challenging financial settlement but we are doing all that we can to support excellence in teaching and research by keeping across-the-board reductions in core funding to universities and colleges to a minimum.

"These are testing times but higher education has benefited from very substantial growth over the past 10 years, and we should continue to aim for the very best within available resources. UK higher education generates nearly £60 billion for the economy with a multiplier effect of 3:1 from public investment. It clearly makes sense for the Government to take full account of this in setting priorities for the effective use of public funding in future spending rounds."

Langlands said the council would maintain its commitment to widening participation and to supporting excellent research. But vice-chancellors are particularly incensed by the limits placed by ministers on university places given the number available will be the same as in 2008.

There is no limit to the number of students universities can recruit from outside the European Union. But the government has imposed a strict cap on the number of UK and other EU students they can enrol.

Professor Les Ebdon, Chair of the university think-tank million+ and Vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, said: "This is completely counter-intuitive. The evidence points to rising demand but funding for student support which the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills provided to allow 10,000 additional students to be recruited in 2009 has been withdrawn and universities will not have these numbers available for students wishing to start university in 2010."

Professor Steve Smith, President of the vice-chancellors organisation Universities UK, warned the cuts would damage the quality of degree courses and lead to increased competition for places. Last year, 160,000 applicants failed to get into university while this year another 75,000 have already applied.

Professor David Green, Vice-chancellor of the University of Worcester, was even more pessimistic. Green thought that up to 300,000 applicants could be rejected and warned that UK students could be discriminated against in the fight for university places as the government will be imposing fines of £3,700 per student for over-recruitment.

In the north-east, Professor Graham Henderson, Vice-chancellor of Teesside University, was equally aggrieved as he will have to restrict student numbers at a time of unprecedented demand for places as a result of winning the Times Higher Education University of the Year Award.

"We have seen a 30% increase in applications at a time when we won't be able to take any more full-time UK or EU undergraduate students," Henderson said.

"We will still be able to grow our part-time postgraduate and international student numbers and I believe we will still see further expansion of Teesside University, but our full-time home-based student numbers have been capped - which is somewhat unfortunate given the higher skills deficit in this region."

Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, said: "Our leading institutions cannot continue to be internationally competitive, provide a first-rate teaching experience and offer generous support to disadvantaged students without access to increased funding."

diane.spencer@uw-news.com