University funding/finances

Northumbria’s REF 2021 results emphasise that growing research capability can benefit teaching, business and employment, says Andrew Wathey

Proposed changes risk further eroding support funding for discovery research without achieving their core objectives

Colleges are being squeezed in many of the same ways that American households are

The extent of research‘s cross-subsidisation by overseas student fees is too rarely understood by policymakers and academics alike, says Ruth Arnold

Clearinghouse tally held up as incentive for institutions to encourage returners, while also affirming scale of political dilemma confronting Biden

As Australia’s general election looms, many in university circles may be hoping that Scott Morrison’s coalition is voted out. But is it true that conservative governments and universities are natural antagonists? And how much better would the sector fare under a Labor administration? John Ross reports

Underfunding, compliance costs and buffer targets have left universities with ‘no room to manoeuvre’, says representative group

Extent of staffing overhauls bore little relationship to Covid’s financial carnage, says report

Rival centre’s establishment highlights the problems for thinktanks in universities

Just as campaigns to promote societal benefit show strength, activists admit setbacks in wider battleground for basic academic freedom

Average deficit incurred by English universities for teaching a UK student will more than double to about £4,000 in 2024-25, Russell Group warns

Dutch universities among those fearing multibillion-euro redistribution

As staff reel from an austerity drive, Victoria produces its first A$3 billion institution

Findings raise red flag for Australia’s economically crucial international enrolments

Universities UK backs plans but stresses that they must be easy to understand and avoid bureaucracy for all involved

Generation-high inflation raises particular issues for humanities students and universities confronting a demographic bulge

Institutions in UK, Ireland and Canada much more optimistic about post-pandemic outlook than counterparts in Australia and New Zealand

In hesitancies on student aid and loan forgiveness, Biden and allies may be missing major opinion shift, authors warn

Union wants income-contingent loans scheme gone, while universities want it extended

Using international education proceeds for students’ benefit could galvanise overseas enrolments and defuse community ‘resentment’, study finds

Institution promises overhaul amid calls for firings

Flows not robust enough to alter ‘slight negative outlook’ on institutional finances

War has helped to fan inflation and wither universities’ resources. With scant prospect of let-up, all eyes are watching the horizon for hopeful signs

Compromise between egalitarian and competitive ideals could usher in bigger university groupings and more interdisciplinary evaluation

But insiders say there are votes to be gained in policies to make participation more equitable

V-cs increasingly predict next government will have to look again at sector funding as costs rise and universities face ‘running on fumes’

More ‘operating deficits’ tipped as Australia’s national university reboots activity levels in a Covid-normal world

With emphasis on research commercialisation and limited gains in aid, higher education senses lost opportunity in Liberal-NDP team

After decades operating in a largely low-inflation environment, Western universities are seeing rising energy costs and war in Ukraine push prices up. How exposed is the sector?

Forty-year-old ALRA shut just days after students had paid fees

As president vows to lower drug prices, academia sides with corporates against allowing waivers to legislation credited with driving US innovation

Amid election-year debate on college costs, Biden extends pause on federal loan repayments and wipes away records of past defaults

But positive results owe much to temporary government and stock market lifelines, according to early institutional accounts

But promised infrastructure and research commercialisation funding could stretch thin

There was ‘no obvious solution’ on fees, but a more targeted review could ‘take politics out’ of accounting for university funding, says Jonathan Slater

Australia’s big talk on science aspirations overlooks the skills needed to make it all happen, critics say

In fiscal 2023 budget plan, president seeks to bolster student and research grants, but without specific eye on community colleges and immigrant children

Canberra’s policy changes helped turn its big-ticket infrastructure schemes into pipe dreams, university-industry report argues

Potential for ‘mass cancellation of gap years’ in rush for 2022 entry as finance expert warns 2023 starters could face huge hike in costs

University-led projects ‘directly supporting local employers, jobs, and communities’ at risk, UUK tells government

Slump in applications to country’s biggest tertiary admissions centre aligns with anecdotal reports that universities are struggling to find students

While all US states exempt non-profit organisations, communities under financial stress renew push for campuses to contribute voluntarily

Annual measure offers significant aid increases for low-income and minority students, more modest gains for research spending

Union leaders insist support for further strikes is strong but new pressures may harden university leaders’ resolve, experts warn

Proposal to ‘link performance and funding’ the latest in an interventionist trend

National Audit Office says regulator must do more to ‘build trust’ with sector and DfE should clarify level of ‘tolerance for provider failure’

Local authorities should work in close collaboration with academic institutions to make international students feel welcome, says James Pitman

The Augar response highlights ministers’ hopes that rising costs will make certain courses economically unviable, says Alexis Brown

Frozen fee levels must rise eventually, but universities need to deliver efficiency gains through hybrid learning, says David Willetts

Warning comes as data on English student numbers suggest institutions growing international master’s cohorts

Westminster policy package described as ‘missed opportunity’ that leaves ‘difficult questions’ to be answered by next government

Survey suggests half of national associations consider higher education funding to be insufficient

An unsustainable strategic choice has been made to worsen the university offer for future students and graduates, says Chris Husbands

Flawed assumptions about how universities and statisticians would react to the trebling of fees are behind today’s retrogressive steps, says Aaron Porter

Vertical campus ‘well suited’ to small group teaching, as students navigate degrees one block at a time

Top-ranked institutions now have the autonomy to evaluate and confirm which of their own disciplines will qualify for the project

Working-class school-leavers’ fear of debts larger than their parents’ annual incomes is still a big issue, say Geoffrey Alderman and Zoe Morrison 

Annual survey of 720 campuses pegs average stockpile at $1.1 billion, up 35 per cent in year, with student aid benefiting

Higher education systems that are free to evolve have improved and adapted as times change, but more are seeing ministers determined to set the course

Belated data show that inexperienced, untenured and non-academic staff shouldered the lion’s share of job losses