University funding/finances

Willetts hints that ‘unplanned’ expansion after cap lifts will be scrutinised

Adding 30,000 extra places will spread teaching funds even thinner, sector figures warn

Slowing growth in international student numbers could have “a material impact on the sector”, while a financial blow from pensions could be looming.

Scheme to be run jointly with Higher Education Funding Council for England

Move comes as unions continue to fight below-inflation pay offer

‘No preconceptions’ as Higher Education Commission begins exploration of long-term financial sustainability

Wealthy foreigners could gain visas and an accelerated route to British citizenship by donating large sums to universities, a new report suggests

But 600 vote against amid discontent over salary plans

The new Higher Education Policy Institute director has called for reform of regulatory differences between universities and private providers.

Rama Thirunamachandran moots idea of a loan system ‘underpinned by the private sector’

It’s hard for specialist institutions to go it alone, but mergers may bring few benefits, says Miriam David

MPs in charge of examining public spending “don’t have confidence” in the government figures behind the £200 billion student loans system.

Grant letter keeps new cuts down and widening participation funding stays

The concept of a student market - and so the involvement of the Consumers’ Association - is flawed, argues Martin McQuillan

Could England force a similar reversal? Howard Hotson asks

By Scott Jaschik, for Inside Higher Ed

The research councils will receive more than double the capital funding in 2015-16 than they were originally allocated for 2014-15, it has been revealed

The government has delivered a £125 million cut to higher education funding in today’s grant letter, while criticising vice-chancellors on pay

A commitment by government to consult over a long-term plan for science capital investment has been welcomed by the Lords Science and Technology Committee.

A private college “supplied misleading information” that led to students wrongly gaining access to public-backed loans, according to the government

The experience of uncapping numbers in the UK will be different from that in Australia, says Libby Hackett

Paul Gibbons says lack of time, money and legal clarity can all affect universities’ responses to FoI Act requests

University warns more savings are needed as it admits international recruitment will not recover for years

The budget for universities in Scotland will remain almost exactly the same in cash terms in 2014-15, the Scottish Funding Council has confirmed

Arguing the case for market forces in higher education will become harder if a university looks likely to fail, warns Emran Mian

Does more mean better or worse?

The reckless pursuit of rank threatens the academy’s future, argues Roger Brown

We’ll make the principles of Robbins a 21st-century reality, minister promises

A group of colleges at the University of Cambridge have collectively raised £150 million for capital projects through the private debt market.

Ideology and myopia threatens the future of some of the UK’s best humanities departments, warns Louis Goddard

Aldwyn Cooper takes aim at the coalition’s haphazard policymaking

The Treasury’s stated plan to fund expansion in student places by the sale of loans omits £1.7 billion in lost repayments arising from the sell off.

Shadow universities minister delivers vision for sector in first major speech

Yesterday’s announcement that student number controls are to be abolished has attracted comment from all quarters. Here is a round-up of responses:

The Russell Group has attacked the government’s decision to abolish student number caps, warning of a potential decline in quality.

The government has given quantum technologies research a boost in the autumn statement.

The government has been warned by a leading peer not to cut the science and research budget in today’s autumn statement.

Wholly owned university accommodation apes private charges

BIS admits scale of planned recruitment was ‘unaffordable’

Lack of interdisciplinarity and pared funds a cause of concern for social sciences

Government-matched funding scheme would cut debt burden and improve social equality, say researchers

HESA announces publication date for data on number of researchers eligible for submission

A total of £2 million is to be spent on helping universities support students who want to work in social enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Social mobility could be harmed if cuts of £45 million are focused on the so-called “widening participation premium”, a new study says

The government has suspended all funding for overseas EU students at private colleges, and for Bulgarians and Romanians at public universities.

Britain’s poorest students are set to lose bursaries and other support worth £100 million next year after ministers fast-tracked planned cuts.

Ministers have been accused of “industrial scale incompetence” after a damning report on student loans was released by the public spending watchdog

Inaccurate ‘begging letter’ incenses emeritus professor

Liberals and conservatives argue over merits of intergenerational Pay It Forward plan

‘Uncontrolled’ growth in HNCs and HNDs may lead to university retrenchment

Bahram Bekhradnia warns of the clear and present dangers facing the UK academy

Coalition government policy to create a market in higher education has pushed England’s sector into “a terrible muddle, unmatched in the world”.

Malcolm Gillies on contradictory attitudes to soaring fees and value for money

The changes will make sector results look worse than they are, warn Andrew Connolly and Clare Partridge

Sally Mapstone throws her weight behind calls to move beyond £9,000 fees cap

Argentine v-c: ad-based system could end ‘financial discrimination’

Welsh education minister says time to ‘take stock’ of Cardiff policy

‘Big money’ grants foster ‘bookkeeping’ work at the expense of small-scale but potentially groundbreaking efforts, says Gary Thomas

London research giant attributes success to interdisciplinary approach

Research councils show value of restraint