University funding/finances

Things go from bad to worse for student-starved sector, with unexpended funds recycled one month and repossessed the next

Disappointment comes months after v-c told alumni that government funding was ‘becoming extremely inadequate’

Experts counter analysis suggesting that mismanagement, not declining government subsidies, is cause of financial woes

Canberra may have chosen the right time to revisit university funding, as institutional accounts suggest a widening divide between the haves and have-nots

US grant agency hopes to ensure a more scientific approach after years of political battles over risks of China collaborations

Changes aimed at protecting students and taxpayers adding uncertainties that could lead to institutions closing rather than joining forces, experts warn

Rampant discounting blunts income being made from steep increase in overseas students, as regulator plans action on recruitment

New models beckon after ‘golden age’, sociologist predicts, as source countries seek to plug skills haemorrhage

Transferable allowances could bring students clarity and flexibility as they become ‘customers who can make demands’, but some worry about workability and vesting unprecedented powers in landlord-presidents

Research funding needs attention in higher education review, representative body warns, as survey reveals upbeat Antipodean attitude to science

President believes that Waseda has already reformed in key ways, helping make its case for support under the country’s excellence initiative

Jeopardising local universities with rhetoric about rip-off degrees is the last thing the UK needs. A new funding settlement is vital, says Martin Jones 

Revenue from Singapore venture crucial to ongoing sustainability, says Massey vice-chancellor

‘Not in a million years’ will English fee cap be raised during cost-of-living crisis, says minister, despite universities’ warnings on falling funding

Academics voice concerns over ‘short-sightedness’ of programme envisaging opening of dozens of science departments

Employers opt to defer increases as finances squeezed but majority tell THE they are paying up

Ipsos polling shows lukewarm support for graduate tax, especially among younger respondents

Disparaged policies could take root as Australia’s once-in-a-generation higher education review dawdles, critics warn

Biden's debt forgiveness plan may have been blocked but everyone will suffer if graduates can't afford to spend, says F. King Alexander

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