Wild west battle for students

Institutions in the south west are creating a united front - but they are not necessarily all doing the same thing.

Too much in-fighting and not enough inward investment are common concerns in the south west that both higher education and the business community are working to address.

A Confederation of British Industry report this year warned: "For the region - or any part of it - to fulfil its potential, public and private sector organisations must put aside outdated wrangles and cooperate across geographical boundaries."

Five universities, six higher education colleges and further education colleges are trying to forge collaborative ventures among themselves and with the private sector to boost the region's - and their own - economic potential.

But there are big variations in institutional approaches to this goal, and to how each university or college sees its role and regional position. One issue is a need to recruit to higher education and retain people living in the area. Research has shown that net migration from the south west is the highest of all regions in England.

But figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service also reveal that just over a third of 22,346 people from the south west who were accepted on higher education courses in 1995 went to institutions in the region. This made the south west the most popular area of study for people from the region, followed by the south east which took nearly a fifth of the south west's successful applicants.

However, out of 12 regions listed by UCAS, the south west ranked eighth in popularity and capacity, accepting 20,236 out of a United Kingdom total of 265,536. The total higher education student population for the region is around 70,000.

Institutions based furthest west tend to see the south-west peninsula as a major catchment area, whereas those at the Bristol/Bath end also look to south Wales, the midlands and the south east for students. There are also big differences in the outlook of old and new universities. While the University of the West of England estimates that around half of its students come from the south west, the University of Bristol says just 15 per cent of its students are from the region.

UCAS found that students holding traditional entry qualifications represented a relatively high proportion of accepted applicants in the south west compared with other regions. This may begin to change, however, as universities build partnerships with further education colleges.

In 1995, 15 institutions in the south west received applications through UCAS for the 1,449 courses they provided. Over 55 per cent were for non-science subjects. Of science courses, 28 per cent were for physical sciences and 23 per cent for engineering and technology.

Cornwall is a problem area, both in economic terms and because of its narrow range of higher education provision. Travel is still relatively difficult. Bristol is about 200 miles from south-west Cornwall, and the train journey takes as long as that from London to Edinburgh - four and a half hours. The demand for more higher education is illustrated by the fact that Cornwall has the longest Open University waiting list in the country. Investment in new technology education link-ups and local learning centres is growing as a result.

The financial health of south western institutions appears to be bearing up despite big funding cuts imposed nationally. Most universities and colleges are working on the basis of a break-even budget.

But many are having to cut spending on staff and equipment to maintain that position. Plymouth University is expecting to have to make some compulsory redundancies to reduce its staff costs by Pounds 500,000. Bristol University, even though it has raised Pounds 35 million through fund-raising, is looking to shed up to 70 from its workforce through early retirements.