Half of university funding will be paid for by students, as personal contributions rise to their highest level in over 100 years, a study by the University and College Union (UCU) has revealed.

The UCU has also discovered that annual Government funding on teaching and research will drop to below 15 per cent by 2013/14, from £6.6 billion in 2011/2012 to £3.7 billion, The Telegraph reports.

“This study shows how over the last 30 years higher education funding has shifted from the state to the student,” Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the UCU stated.

“This Government’s regressive university reforms will accelerate this process further and see annual public investment in teaching and research fall to its lowest proportion in over a century. You cannot maintain a world class university system in the 21st century by turning the clock back to the 1900s and before.”

From September this year, universities will be able to charge up to £9,000 in annual tuition fees, almost three times the current maximum. The UCU study claims the proportion of funding from students, through higher tuition fees, is expected to reach 47.2 per cent by 2013/2014, compared to the 1970s, when the share stood at six per cent.

A Spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills defended the Government’s decision: “Our reforms put university finances on to a long-term sustainable basis. Students will have more study choices and funding for universities will follow their decisions. We estimate that total funding for the sector could increase by around ten per cent over the spending review period.”

For the latest news on university funding and tuition fees, follow these links:

• University applications fall by 15 per cent
• Universities seek last-minute changes
• University fees ‘not worth £9,000′ claim students

by Victoria Bamber

University professors have spoken out against plans to expand the number of private universities, over concerns it may lead to higher dropout rates and lower academic standards.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, professors say that proposals sent out in the Higher Education White Paper will “condemn generations of students” to an experience similar to that in the US where many students fail to complete their degree and struggle to pay off loans.

Many academics have called for the Government to reassess the plans which will make it easier for private providers to enter universities, The Telegraph reports.

The letter, circulated by the University and College Union (UCU) and signed by 471 professors, describes the situation in the US, where only one-in-five students at for-profit universities complete a four-year degree, whilst a fifth default on loans within three years.

“People across the political spectrum care passionately about maintaining UK universities’ hard won international reputation and this letter from so many eminent professors shows that those responsible for building our strong academic reputation have grave doubts about the government’s proposals,” Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the UCU commented.

“The experience of for-profit universities in the US, which our Government seeks to emulate, has been a disaster for the taxpayer with public subsidies soaring while completion rates have fallen.”

Despite concerns from academics and the UCU, ministers say the new system will provide more choice for students and will include structured inspections to monitor standards of institutions accepting taxpayers’ money.

The Government have also stressed that students taking out loans will only repay a proportion of earnings above £21,000.

A Spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: “We want to see a diverse higher education sector, with built-in quality assurance, that focuses on a high-quality student experience. Under our reforms the Higher Education Funding Council for England will have a new duty to protect the interests of students.”

“Providers accessing student loans will also have to provide information about the employment outcomes of previous graduates.”

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by Victoria Bamber
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The number of UK born students applying to start university next year has fallen by 15 per cent, the university admissions service has revealed.  The latest statistics, published by Ucas, show 133,357 applicants have applied from within the UK, compared with 157,116 this time last year.

Many universities and trade unions say the drop in applicants is due to the rise in tuition fees, which will treble to a maximum of £9,000 per year in 2012, The Guardian reports.

“We believe putting financial barriers in front of young people who have been told their entire lives to aim for university is nothing more than a policy of penalising ambition,” Sally Hunt, General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) stated.

The number of mature students applying to university has also decreased, with applications from adults age 25-39 falling by 20 per cent and those over 40 by 25 per cent.

Les Ebdon, the Chair of Million+, which represents some of the new universities, commented on the issue: “Many mature students study later because they realise that they have missed out on the life-changing employment and learning opportunities that studying for a degree offers. No one should lose the chance to be what they might have been. Ministers need to up their game, and should launch a campaign in the New Year to ensure that older students understand the new loan system and the opportunities available.”

The proportions of applicants from Northern Ireland and Scotland have also decreased by 15.2 per cent and 12.7 per cent respectively; those from England and Wales have fallen by 10.2 per cent and 10.3 per cent.

Individual universities have not revealed how their applications compare with last year, although City University, in London, has said their numbers are down by 41.4 per cent on last year.

Both Ucas and the Russell Group have defended the fall in applicants for 2012.Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group said it is unfair to compare the number of applicants for next autumn’s courses with those for this year’s because the previous figures may have been artificially inflated by students applying before the near-trebling of fees came into effect.

Mary Curnock Cook, the Chief Executive of Ucas, said she expected “some depression of demand” because of a decline in the young population. She said it is “much too early to predict any effects from changes in tuition fees”.

For the latest education news, advice and ‘twips’, follow us on Twitter @RecourseCharity.

by Victoria Bamber

Universities have cancelled over 5,000 degree courses because of Government cuts and the rise in tuition fees, it has been claimed.

A study by Supporting Professionalism in Admissions (SPA), a service for admissions tutors, claims there will be a 12 per cent drop in the number of courses provided next year compared to 2011, The Independent reports.  The research suggests that many universities are cutting courses that have been deemed ‘too expensive’ or ‘not good enough’.

SPA says 38,147 courses will be offered by the University and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) in 2012, down from 43,360 this year. A spokesman said the cuts were “a possible reflection of the systematic review of course provision by some higher education institutions”.

A University and College Union (UCU) spokesman said: “It’ll be a real tragedy if [students living at home to reduce costs] find cuts at their local university mean they can no longer study the subject they have always wanted.”

Universities and Science Minister David Willetts defended the Government’s decision earlier this year, he said: ”The intent of our higher education reforms are clear: we are putting students at the heart of the system with a financing system that is fairer and affordable for the nation. While we expect universities to offer good value for money, students will have the information to decide what course and institution is right for them. Institutions will have to work much harder to attract students and be explicit about the quality of their teaching and the type of experience they offer.”

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by Victoria Bamber

Described by the unions as ‘the biggest walkout of the generation’, the public sector pension strikes involved up to two million public sector workers, including members from the University and College Union (UCU), Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and National Union of Teachers (NUT).

Recourse monitored the action in London to find out more.

A group of lecturers from Tower Hamlet Colleges said: “If you have the same thinking and the same attitude, you get into the same recession. You need education to get out of recession, the cuts are unnecessary.”

One member from ATL told us: “I’ve been having sleepless nights and was feeling anxious and stressed over the Government’s decisions.”

An NUT teacher told us: “I’m 62 and it doesn’t affect me, but can you imagine me teaching a class of 31 ten year olds? They wouldn’t get the best out of me.”

Talkign about the strikes, UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt commented: “Despite b.eing possibly the only minister to have stood on a picket line, Michael Gove is still symptomatic of this Government’s complete lack of understanding of trade unions and working people.  Educators are far from mindless militants and to suggest they want to inconvenience anybody is incredibly insulting. They would rather be in the classroom than on the picket line tomorrow, but they will fight to save their pensions. They want proper negotiations to secure a resolution to the dispute and it is time for the government to deliver.”

“Strike action will always be, quite rightly, a last resort and for Michael Gove or anyone in Government to suggest otherwise exposes the contempt with which they hold hard-working public servants.”

Despite the response from the unions and their members, Prime Minister David Cameron described the protest as a ‘damp squib strike’. He commented: “The reason people are going on strike is because they object to the reforms we are making to public sector pensions. I believe those reforms are absolutely essential and as the former Labour Pension Secretary Lord Hutton said…”It is hard to imagine a better deal than this.”

Home Secretary Theresa May told the BBC she recognises people are concerned about pensions but that the Government has made a ‘generous’ offer and going ahead with the strike is ‘irresponsible’.

For the latest news on the pension strikes, follow us on Twitter @RecourseCharity.

by Victoria Bamber