…s key to generating business growth and jobs, as well as strengthening the UK’s global competitive advantage. Alliance universities have real expertise in driving economic growth through this approach. These are universities undertaking world-leading research, often in highly rated STEM departments, working closely with industry to generate near-market solutions and starting new businesses. Harnessing the links and processes that allow knowledge t…
Will you want to vote on university funding and fees in the coming Parliament? Do you have a university 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. …
…try. 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 a graduate contribution scheme (GSC). It would simplify the system, cap graduates’ lifetime liabilities, and charge the full cost of loans (not the same as…
…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. …
…severe funding cuts, the director of a mission group has said. Libby Aston, of the University Alliance, said that slow progress 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…
…responsive and dynamic? Consultation question 8: Do you broadly agree 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…
…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 “the huge risks and potential calamities of the market, abandoning them to sink or swim”, he said. The University All…
…te Contribution Agency”. Read the full article ….
…ortage of vice-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. Rea…