…iversity in your constituency? This briefing paper is a snapshot of the issues which are likely to be voted on or debated during the next Parliament and the ways University Alliance can provide useful information. Universities are now major generators of economic growth for the UK and the largest employers in some cities. [Download Briefing Paper as PDF] …
…A scramble for university is under way with up to 186,000 students chasing a dwindling number of unfilled places. With another record in the A-level pass rate, and 27% of entries gaining As or A*s, the competition appears more intense than ever. The university admissions service said 2010 was perhaps the toughest year for admissions for the past decade. Read the full article. …
…tended in creating annual fees, one of their more important public sector reforms, vital to maintaining the triple-A status of this key British export industry. Browne is all but certain to propose lifting the fee cap, currently £3,250, unpopular but necessary if Oxbridge is to charge more than Bogstandard Uni. Among the evidence submitted to Browne, proposals from the University Alliance, the group of mostly ex-poly access universities, envisages…
…etary said. Mr Cable was setting out a more “progressive” system of funding that includes proposals for a so-called “graduate tax”. And he admitted that as the university sector becomes more competitive, it is inevitable that some institutions will struggle and should be left to fail. Read the full article. …
…ress on a more “flexible framework” for VAT could hinder the potential for efficiency savings in the sector. Currently, institutions that want to share activities such as payroll management must save at least the cost of VAT – 17.5 per cent – as although universities are classed as VAT-exempt, they cannot reclaim the tax paid on the services they buy. The previous government said in the Budget statement in March that it would “consider options” fo…
…e that, to achieve value for money, our funding method should continue to reflect the impact of income from tuition fees and contributions from employers? Consultation question 9: Do you consider that any other principles or features should be fundamental to our teaching funding method? Consultation question 10: What are the advantages / disadvantages associated with each of the options in paragraph 60? Are there other effective alternatives? [Dow…
…the point of use”. “Government could achieve an overall cost reduction in comparison to the current system, whilst still providing loans to cover the full tuition fee, even up to a fee of £9,000 per year, if necessary,” the document claims. But Aaron Porter, president-elect of the National Union of Students, said this could lead to students accruing debts of more than £40,000. Removing the cap on fees would expose students and their families to “…
…top-up fees would be rebranded as graduate contributions under proposals published today by a group of 23 universities. The University Alliance – which represents institutions including The Open University, the University of Hertfordshire and Sheffield Hallam University – argues that its system would dispel “myths” about an upfront cost to university study and the language of debt. Its plans would see the troubled Student Loans Company replaced w…
…ce-chancellors willing to say that the fee cap should be raised, or lifted completely – a development that will do nothing to enhance the public’s understanding of, or affection for, fees. If we were able to step outside of this sphere for a moment we might learn some lessons about why there is such a divide between public opinion on university funding and the view from within the sector. It isn’t simply about money or the fee cap. Read the full a…
…tion fees and maintenance loans to be funded by the private sector through sales of bonds, not by the taxpayer, as in Hungary. University Alliance, representing 22 universities including Oxford Brookes, Bournemouth, Plymouth and Nottingham Trent, said that companies should, in return, charge students higher interest on loans. Typical interest rates might rise to 4.5 or 5 per cent, from their current rate pegged to inflation. Students would not fac…
