University funding/finances
Landmark report has generated applause but could deny vice-chancellors a free hand
Once-in-a-generation review aims to massify a massified system, just as students question the cost-benefit equation
Despite increasing agitation over fee freeze, politics around student support seen as weighing against lifting of cap
Improving benefits and lowering contributions must not mitigate against the pension scheme’s ability to better ride out future storms, says Kate Barker
Needs-based student funding and second national university also among accord panel’s ‘spiky ideas’, aimed at improving equitable access
Canberra agrees to funding guarantee, governance reform, ditching of ‘fail rule’ and uncapped funding for all indigenous students, as it mulls ‘wider change’
As fund records ¥60 million deficit ahead of disbursement, academics voice concern over ‘strings-attached’ model
Interim vice-chancellor insists renowned institution can be rebuilt after mass job cuts while protecting arts courses
University withdraws Austrian role due to funding deficit but staff say longstanding post was well worth the small investment it entailed
‘Glocal’ scheme aims to boost universities outside Seoul and drive innovation in the face of demographic decline
With institutions reluctant to match soaring prices, per-student income is eroded further
Surveys suggest concern about student borrowing transcends age and political divides
Subsidising domestic with international provision would not be tolerated in healthcare. How long before it unravels in HE, asks Mark Corver
Conservative former universities minister tables amendment to allow annual uprating, to ‘flush out’ Tory and Labour positions on ‘funding crisis’
All institutions face multimillion-pound price tag for decarbonising supply chains, built environment and transport systems, says study
A Labour government would be ‘constrained’ by ‘badly damaged’ economy left by Conservatives, warns leader, who says funding policy will be outlined ‘in due course’
Covid-era terror of a decimation in international income has proved unfounded, but investment yields continue to fluctuate wildly. Ahead of the publication of Australia’s landmark new Universities Accord, John Ross investigates what the financial data really says about the state of the sector
Party urged to commit to reversing long-running decline in university funding, after signs its focus is on tweaking status quo
Private university founder calls for governance overhaul as the rector of one of Poland’s leading public universities says it is considering an endowment to secure a more stable financial foundation
University leaders pin hopes on forthcoming review, as funding erosion and regulatory inflexibility threaten core capability
Staff ‘shell-shocked’ as declining enrolments, mounting costs and investment reversal trigger call for voluntary redundancies
Critics say a temporary boost, in the form of money that had been earmarked for universities anyway, will not compensate for starvation rations
Observers welcome ‘funding correction’, bankrolled from ‘transfer of underspends’ amid flagging enrolments, but say permanent solutions are needed
Overhaul of rule that removes student access to government subsidies if they do not complete at least half of their subjects under ‘active consideration’
Eliminating fees would pay for itself through tax while boosting equity of access, Duncan Maskell insists
University says 77 professional staff and 36 academics will go, on top of those taking voluntary severance
As annual legislative sessions conclude around the country, academic interference eases but budgetary hopes also fade away
Report reveals that total recovery of full economic costs was a 5 per cent deficit across the sector
Universities move from public funding to charging tuition fees
‘Staff have been doing more with less, while money is thrown at a political consultant,’ union fumes
Some universities have already begun collecting dues while others ‘wait and see’ for amendment to pass parliament and details of government scholarships to be finalised
Unions and management should strike ‘grand bargain’ to resolve issue that ‘casts a shadow’ over the sector, says outgoing leader
Biden ends months-long Republican showdown by accepting budgetary freeze that will tighten institutions’ budgets and likely hurt students with the greatest need
Academics question whether two new institutions are needed in a system already facing growing pains
Revenue and visa applications reach record levels, but have not yet translated into record student numbers
When Rhodes and fees both fell and Africa’s top university appointed its third black leader, hopes were raised that South African higher education was moving into a new era of equality. But several years on, funding pressures and governance failures still abound. Patrick Jack reports from Cape Town
Notwithstanding their financial reliance on foreigners, universities down under must consider the ‘value proposition’ for the students
Relationship between disgraced financier and small liberal arts school highlights need for gift-acceptance policies
Universities may well accept a 1 per cent funding penalty as a cheaper option, compared with paying money owed to lecturers
Proposed fee hike would signal shift away from generous state funding to ‘joining the club’ and using overseas students for income generation, scholars say
Party commits to reforming incoming student loan changes, claiming they will ‘eat away at pay’ for graduates
With federal budgets under pressure from inflation and energy costs, universities must balance funding exchange projects versus increasing EU collaborations
Enrolment declines and surging costs also take a toll on operating margins for universities in Australia’s most populous state
Issue was not a problem before inflation started sky-rocketing but has now led to calls for system to be overhauled
Strong financial health at sector level conceals wide institutional variation. If growth is choked off, whole universities could fail, says James Brackley
Coming changes to UK higher education’s second biggest pension scheme will add millions to costs at exactly the wrong time, leaders say
Takeover of private institution by larger public one ‘holds lessons’ for sectors haemorrhaging students due to demographic decline
Restructure proposal follows enrolment crash and sub-inflation boost to teaching subsidies
As Universities Accord shines a spotlight on equity, new research finds that the most propitious pathway is little trodden
Australian universities outside cities say building more accommodation will help students and local communities
While national budget includes big increase to tertiary education funding rates, it still falls short of inflation
Increased contributions to the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme will require cuts to student support services, warns Graham Baldwin
New report examines the financial sustainability of non-elite institutions across four countries
‘Reassuring’ analysis reveals that sector is in surplus when pension provision changes are excluded from financial accounts
While new prime minister has nominated science and skills as budget priorities, sector fears any investment will fall short of inflation
As dozens of student-athletes come under investigation, expert predicts major harms on campus from national embrace of sports betting
Costly residential degrees will eat up LLE funding, leaving ‘difficult choices about how to divide up the cake’, warns OU v-c in Hepi paper
Healthy result provides ‘financial sustainability’ in a ‘volatile higher education sector’, vice-chancellor says
In rare victory for parents, federal appeals court overturns convictions, criticising their alleged bribery but agreeing that USC wasn’t cheated
Accommodation shortages and spiralling rents are damaging the student experience and limiting universities’ expansion ambitions. But amid political turbulence, rising borrowing costs and a shrinking private rental market, how can universities ensure that housing supply meets demand without mortgaging their futures, asks Patrick Jack
