…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 with a “Graduate Contribution Agency”. Read the full article ….
…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…
…UCAS data release 8 February 2010). Steve Smith, President of Universities UK has commented: “Last year about 160,000 students who applied didn’t end up going to university. This year, we already know that there are about another 75,000 applying for university. So… there will be a lot of students this year who do not get a place at university.” University Alliance represents 22 universities at the heart of the sector. There have been significant i…
…In the university world, differences of opinion are nothing new. But the outcome of this one might just change the character of higher education itself. Universities are at odds over the future of postgraduate study, with a Government review on the subject, due to report in the spring, setting up sharply diverging views on how PhDs should be funded just as finances for the sector as a whole come under huge pressure. Read the full article….
…and are actively business-focussed. These universities educate 26% of all UK students and offer a research-informed, academic learning environment and a culture of entrepreneurialism, equipping graduates for the 21st century. This response follows discussion amongst our Pro Vice-Chancellors with responsibility for teaching, learning and quality at a University Alliance Quality Seminar held on 18 February 2010. Our response highlights the key issu…
…nstrated that peaks of world-leading research excellence were distributed more widely than had been anticipated. The evidence, however, remains very clear: selectivity not concentration has driven excellence in UK research; excellence is not determined by volume alone; and it is the peaks of world-leading research excellence that determine the position of the UK as a world leader. Read the full article….
…tions to a level that would be inconsistent with the general health of the UK research base, in terms of both its economic and its social contribution…leading to complacency and ossification.” Excellence is not determined by volume alone There is no direct correlation between volume and excellence outside some of the physical sciences. The relationship between volume and excellence varies by discipline. Three broad categories were identified by ex…
…ise repayments. Alternatively, it could offer the discount only to lower-income students, information the Student Loans Company already has. So an enlightened Government could enable graduates to repay loans to help them through a difficult start to their careers, allow several thousand more students to attend university and raise much-needed cash for the Treasury. This sounds like win-win politics to me. John Craven Vice-Chancellor University of…