This summer there will be an extra 40,000 unsuccessful university applicants than in 2008. This is because we have seen an 8 per cent hike in applications, but institutions won’t recruit more students than they did last year for fear of being fined. If restrictions were lifted, universities could admit 10,000-15,000 more students, provided there was additional funding. If some of these places were financed by the Higher Education Funding Council …

University Alliance represents 22 major, dynamic, business-like universities at the heart of the sector which deliver world-leading research with impact and are actively business-focussed. Alliance universities educate 26% of all UK students and achieve some of the highest graduate-level employment rates. These universities offer a research- informed, academic learning environment and a culture of entrepreneurialism, equipping graduates for the 2…

Tomorrow, the broad principles determining what funding universities receive next year will be set. The final allocations for university funding in 2009-10 are not due until 4 March, but vice-chancellors are already lobbying for their financial futures. Around £1.5bn a year in research funding is at stake as officials at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) work out what money will follow December’s research assessment exercis…

Tim Wilson, vice-chancellor of Hertfordshire, calls for the creation of a new generation of commerce-friendly universities. It has been heartening for academe to hear Government and Opposition acknowledge so clearly the contribution of universities to economic and social wellbeing. But there can be no doubt that a major challenge remains as we pursue a high-skills, high-value-added economy, dynamic and agile enough to compete with the best in the…

Letters & Opinions, March 16, 2007 You report that Russell Group universities are increasingly becoming the major providers of single honours language programmes (“Study deserts blight UK”, February 9), and this is a likely consequence of the reduction in the number of students wanting these degrees. Yet such programmes thrive in a number of University Alliance institutions – particularly in French, German and Spanish., and often combined with th…