University funding/finances

University funding levels will remain broadly similar next year to those announced in 2014, the government’s annual grant letter has today confirmed

Alumni expected to become lifelong investors in higher education, UUK and CASE Europe conference hears

A vague policy on higher education could help the party win the next election, argues Nick Hillman

The performance of the whole European research system could be harmed if changes to EU budgets go ahead, it has been warned.

Incoming Case president Sue Cunningham says that move would herald ‘real engagement’ and help to drive success

South America’s neoliberal pioneer is taking higher education out of the market. The UK should take heed, says Bahram Bekhradnia

Funding council installs overseer after permitting University of Northampton to borrow £300m for Waterside campus

Teaching postgraduates costs £11,300 on average while the figure for undergraduates is £7,700, according to a study for England’s funding council.

The impact of the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees at English universities is detailed in a new report

Despite the introduction of postgraduate loans, the government’s education funding aims remain a puzzle, says Nigel Carrington

Criticism of postgraduate loans scheme smacks of the adage: ‘never let a good deed go unpunished’, writes Andrew Wathey

Loans of up to £10,000 to be available for master’s students under the age of 30

Paul Wellings and Toni Pearce consider the impact of higher fees

Student numbers will be uncapped from 2015. Chris Havergal examines arguments for and against expansion

Removing student number caps in Australia led to a marketing explosion and a sharp rise in public spending, English higher education has been warned.

UCU passes motion as government guarantees £230 million public bond to fund Waterside campus

Some English universities are interested in the idea of buying the debt of their graduates, but it ‘may not be the smartest investment’

The current £9,000 fee system is financially unsustainable and puts higher education at risk from a failed market, according to a report

UEL vice-chancellor says it is wrong that students’ money is used to prop up local government schemes

But higher education still biggest recipient of major gifts

Delft University of Technology report says universities could reduce estates footprint by 25 per cent via more space-sharing

Nick Hillman considers the likelihood of the government taking concrete steps to help postgraduate students before the election

As giving grows in importance, universities need to engage seriously with the topic, says Charles Keidan

Employers respond to ‘scare stories’ around proposed changes to USS pension scheme

Senior professors express ‘outrage’ at Glasgow’s decision to reduce investment

Education lawyer Smita Jamdar on the danger of piecemeal change to the regulatory regime

Maintaining a stable university income while writing off a third of student loans could save money and win votes, John Cater suggests

The University of Huddersfield has been tackled by HM Revenue and Customs over a £600,000 “abusive tax avoidance” case dating back more than 10 years.

Former minister warns Labour’s Liam Byrne that lowering tuition fees will cause him no end of grief

Students who want to do master’s degrees are stymied by a lack of state finance. Paul Jump investigates how funding can be fixed

‘Going private’ is no financial panacea, say Barry Glassner and Morton Schapiro

Universities are set to increase investment in their estates despite growing financial uncertainty, a new survey shows

Tuition fees are rising for overseas students. If the cap on undergraduate fees is lifted, will they follow suit?

Institution looks for new business model to pay for halls of residence

Scams, defaults, over-optimistic revenue projections: the UK must look to US lessons on student finance, writes Nick Hillman

The chief of the Regional Universities Network on the impact of the Coalition’s planned reforms

A majority of adults in England support reduced tuition fees for students from lower income families, according to a survey for the Sutton Trust

The opposition must give universities guarantees about funding if it wants to gain support, argues Bill Rammell

Louisiana State University president says some US institutions fear new ratings system because they have been misleading students

Former minister’s proposal for universities to buy share of student debt has divided opinion

England urged to learn lessons from country’s experience of steep rise in undergraduates after relaxation of controls

We must return to first principles to develop a fair method of paying for higher education, argues Bahram Bekhradnia

Institutions are exploring how to address the deficit and keep the scheme sustainable, says Anton Muscatelli

String of poor decisions preceded suspension of highly trusted status

Alan Ryan considers the size and seriousness of the US student loans ‘crisis’

Who in our sector has the political will to make the case for state-backed higher education for all, asks Thomas Docherty

Institutions still ‘lag well behind’ US counterparts, which are piling on funds

Spiralling costs and frozen domestic income mean that some universities will be ‘completely stuffed’ within three years, claims Anglia Ruskin leader

University still pays rent and maintenance costs for Ladbroke House and is stuck in lease until 2016

A raft of short-sighted policies are causing harm, says Sir Roderick Floud

Emulate US institutions’ efforts to ‘shape lifelong donors’ while they are still undergraduates, Case report says

Around 60 University of Oxford academics have used an open letter to demand the institution stops investing in fossil fuel companies.

Minister predicts that in 2050 no one will understand today’s anxiety over ‘strange figures’

As costs soar for students Down Under, England should be even more wary of following the country’s lead, says Rachel Wenstone

Too many policy experts look to the US and Australia as “some higher education funding nirvana”, according to the vice-chancellor who chairs Million+.

Universities could be allowed to seek cash without asking funding council’s permission

Small increase in fundraising staff prompts questions over sector’s ability to meet £2 billion target by 2022

Look to Ireland, not Australia, to see the damage caused by unfettered recruitment, says Bahram Bekhradnia

David Kemp and Andrew Norton call for state cash for all institutions and pre-bachelor’s courses

Failure to recruit may lead to lowering of promotional bar