Dan Smith’s Post

Universities UK releases its blueprint for UK HE. Highlights include: * Calls for a new partnership with Whitehall to stabilise university finances and boost their economic contributions * A new global strategy should enhance universities’ reach while reducing financial dependence on international student fees  * The government should commit to two or three year funding allocations for Turing and consider joining Erasmus * Tuition fees must be index-linked to inflation, says the report  Read more >> https://lnkd.in/e8eD6s-v

More financial problems for higher education as leading universities to take students with lower grades as a result of the fall in international students “The crunch point for universities this year could be clearing. I expect to see more Russell Group of Universities in clearing because of the fall in overseas students. That will mean that lower ranking universities have even more competition for UK students and may not meet their targets” In other words, the newer universities - which have already largely switched their funding models to recruiting overseas students - will see a fall in the number of UK students choosing to study there. As a result, I expect that several institutions - especially those that have been dependent on clearing to make up their home student numbers - may not have the income to continue financially. This will inevitably lead to even more cuts in staff and courses and even the possibilities of some academic institutions closing for good.It also seems that there will not be any last minute rescues with the new UK Education secretary stating that the Labour government is not planning to ease universities’ funding fears with an increase in tuition fees or public funding. https://lnkd.in/eUcf9q7c

Over the last 18 months or so I have watched as US Universities and colleges have downsized, ceased tenure and, in some cases closed. I have been waiting for the type of article that I am sharing below about UK Universities, I realise that this one is a month old but there is also a report in todays Daily Mail saying much the same but I cannot bring myself to share anything from the DM. However, the worries would appear to be real, underfunding and overpaying and reliance on the cash cows that are/were International students seems to be having an huge effect on the UK Higher Education sector. Watch this space? https://lnkd.in/eFnK6Uu7

UK universities are facing financial pressure due to a decline in their international student intake. A number of them have been compelled to cut staff, reduce courses, and consider shutting whole departments. Dependent's ban, which bars international students from bringing families with them, decreased demand from key markets drastically. Furthermore, tution fees at universities do not keep up with inflation, adding to operating costs for universities. This is a serious financial crisis. With 40% of England's universities now expected to run budget deficits this year – presaging potential closures and mergers. According to the University and College Union, some 66 universities are in distress, with many slashing staff and courses, especially in the humanities and creative arts. With the UK government spending less on higher education compared with other countries, the universities have become dependent on international student fees. It is the latest dependant ban that deals another blow to the already reduced number of international applications, putting at stake the future of higher education in the UK unless the government does more in support.

According to the Office for Students over 40% of the UK #highereducation sector is currently in deficit. It's important to note that although English #universities have faced a loss of £3 billion in real income from frozen domestic #tuition fees over the past three years due to #inflation, they have gained significantly more than £2.6 billion from increased #internationalstudent tuition fees. The number of #internationalstudents rose from 580,000 to 758,000 during the same period. However, The Conservative Party government imposed restrictions on international students as part of their #election strategy, before they lost by a landslide. This included revoking dependent #visas for #postgraduate students, increasing financial requirements for studying in the UK, raising the NHS surcharge, & imposing higher income thresholds for #skilledworkervisas. Had the sector taken this #overseasstudent windfall & focused on supporting #internationalgraduates transition to successful #jobs back in their home countries, they may not now be in such a precarious position, as they would be able to evidence to government that #internationaleducation is in fact largely immigration neutral. For the latest International #Employability Insight subscribe to: https://lnkd.in/e5c_CSE4 “The The University of Sheffield is facing a £50m shortfall this #academic year after a drop in student numbers. It said student figures fell by 2,200 this year - a reduction of about 7% compared to 2022-23, when 30,307 attended the #university. All departments have been told to make savings over the next year, with no details on potential redundancies announced. “Like many universities across the UK, we have seen a reduction in the number of international students joining us this year & this will have an impact on our financial position," it said. The university, which employs 8,606 people, is also reviewing infrastructure projects as it looks to tackle the shortfall. Recently released UK Home Office figures show the number of international students applying for #visas to #study in the UK had dropped. The University of Sheffield said staff had been told about some of the cost-saving measures it was taking, alongside "seeking to protect the excellent work that takes place across the university". “We are continuing to speak to the government about the value our #research, #innovation & #education brings to the UK economy, & hope to work together to find solutions to the funding challenges facing #highered.” Asia Careers Group SDN BHD - Investing in International Futures AGCAS British Council BUILA Department for Business and Trade Department for Education Higher Education Policy Institute Jisc Office for Students UCAS UKCISA Universities Scotland Universities UK Universities UK International Universities Wales

University Finances: there are a couple big, obvs things coming down the pipe to me. 40% of the UK's universities are heading for deficit, and competition keeps rising. 1. Government support / money will come. There's lot's of messaging in this piece about how it "can't be blank cheque" and "independence but with our money is a bit rich", which to me sounds like help from the state is on the table - I'd expect operations budget cuts will come too, and probably quickly. Operating in deficit for too long is too risky, so better to cut, stabilise, and recover (although I bet you still want enough deficit to keep up pressure for public money 👀) - International attraction will have to rebound. Britain's Universities are operating like world-class beacons of higher education for the world's student markets, with budgets to reflect that. It will be way too hard to reduce scope back down to just educating Brits in Britain (at modest tuitions). As it should be! https://lnkd.in/eb7gPGAm

There has always been ‘never enough’ money to do this or that. Any business (and Universities are businesses , albeit mostly operating as charities with a different regulatory framework) will be environment scanning, assumption surfing and most of all looking at what they do well and can advance with. Of course, look for growth, efficiencies etc. This view, though, overlooks the impact HE has on each individual student and how it changes their lives and in turn communities and economies - that’s the golden nugget. Get the student to where they (and our global environment) needs to be and the ‘product’ will sell itself and survive the ebb and flow of income. Advance HE The PIE The Open University Times Higher Education Universities UK

THREE QUARTERS of the UK university sector will be in financial difficulty next year, despite an increase in domestic student tuition fees, it has been reported - as the UK university funding crisis seems to be going from bad to worse. New analysis by the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England, seen by BBC News has found that by 2025-26, 72 per cent of UK universities could be spending more money than they have coming in and may have to use an overdraft or financial reserves. Sir David Behan, the OfS chairman, told the BBC that a university going bust “isn’t imminent now”, but to reduce the risk higher education needs to be “radically reimagined”. He said universities should think about “a transformation of their offer”, looking closely at the length and range of courses and should consider mergers or much closer collaboration to reduce competition on courses in the same regions. More from Branwen Jeffreys and Hope Rhodes for the BBC here: https://lnkd.in/edEPf5Qa Meanwhile, Times Higher Education reports data that confirms a 16 per cent drop in UK student visa applications from international students, driving a "significant income loss". More here: https://lnkd.in/eMhT4vBN The latest count of UK universities making staff or financial cuts has now reached 77, according to an updated list maintained by the Queen Mary University branch of the UCU.

We are all feeling the impact of this now. Mergers and collaborations unfortunately also mean losing discipline specificity and the specialist skills & knowledge associated with that subject.

While the sector lay the blame squarely at the governments door, it is not as if for the last five years #universities have been operating in a bubble. They would have been well aware, one would have thought of frozen tuition fees, rising inflation & increasing interest rates. We find ourselves wondering why this is a government problem & not one for universities themselves to address? With record #Internationalstudent numbers & international #tuition fees for the last three years, where has all the money gone? Using PSW as the foundation for long-term #internationalstudent growth in UK #highered, has always been an accident waiting to happen! Finding ways to understand & develop their #internationalgraduates’ #careers in source countries, should for the last three years been core to a university’s strategy for building a sustainable competitive advantage. “UK universities will be forced to step up course closures & job cuts unless the government addresses a looming structural funding crisis in the sector, according to #highereducation leaders. The warning follows a spate of lay-offs at more than 50 universities this year, citing financial pressures… Rachel Hewitt, the head of MillionPlus - The Association for Modern Universities which represents the former #polytechnic “post-1992” universities said that sector faced inevitable further erosion, with cuts landing hardest on institutions more likely to serve disadvantaged #students. “Already the sector has seen redundancies & course closures & without action this trend will worsen. As financial pressure continues to bite, there are further risks to student choice, services & opportunity.” The plea for more government assistance puts #university bosses at odds with The Conservative Party, which has argued that the sector has become bloated, providing too many courses that do not offer a return on students’ investment. One Tory minister blamed the #highereducation sector for pursuing several years of “unsustainable expansion” by exploiting demand from #internationalstudents, in particular those from #China. They argued the ongoing retrenchment was a necessary market adjustment to economic conditions. The government said it was providing £6bn a year in direct financial support to the sector & another £10bn a year in tuition fee loans. However, Vivienne Stern, CEO of Universities UK said that the sector faced fundamental challenges even after the latest round of aggressive cost-cutting. “While this provides some mitigation, the scale of the challenge being faced means that even these best efforts will not be sufficient to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the sector & the 385,000 #jobs that directly sit within it.” Asia Careers Group SDN BHD - Investing in International Futures AGCAS British Council BUILA Department for Business and Trade Department for Education Jisc Office for Students UCAS UKCISA Universities Scotland Universities UK International