University funding/finances

War has helped to fan inflation and wither universities’ resources. With scant prospect of let-up, all eyes are watching the horizon for hopeful signs

Compromise between egalitarian and competitive ideals could usher in bigger university groupings and more interdisciplinary evaluation

But insiders say there are votes to be gained in policies to make participation more equitable

V-cs increasingly predict next government will have to look again at sector funding as costs rise and universities face ‘running on fumes’

More ‘operating deficits’ tipped as Australia’s national university reboots activity levels in a Covid-normal world

With emphasis on research commercialisation and limited gains in aid, higher education senses lost opportunity in Liberal-NDP team

After decades operating in a largely low-inflation environment, Western universities are seeing rising energy costs and war in Ukraine push prices up. How exposed is the sector?

Forty-year-old ALRA shut just days after students had paid fees

As president vows to lower drug prices, academia sides with corporates against allowing waivers to legislation credited with driving US innovation

Amid election-year debate on college costs, Biden extends pause on federal loan repayments and wipes away records of past defaults

But positive results owe much to temporary government and stock market lifelines, according to early institutional accounts

But promised infrastructure and research commercialisation funding could stretch thin

There was ‘no obvious solution’ on fees, but a more targeted review could ‘take politics out’ of accounting for university funding, says Jonathan Slater

Australia’s big talk on science aspirations overlooks the skills needed to make it all happen, critics say

In fiscal 2023 budget plan, president seeks to bolster student and research grants, but without specific eye on community colleges and immigrant children

Canberra’s policy changes helped turn its big-ticket infrastructure schemes into pipe dreams, university-industry report argues

Potential for ‘mass cancellation of gap years’ in rush for 2022 entry as finance expert warns 2023 starters could face huge hike in costs

University-led projects ‘directly supporting local employers, jobs, and communities’ at risk, UUK tells government

Slump in applications to country’s biggest tertiary admissions centre aligns with anecdotal reports that universities are struggling to find students

While all US states exempt non-profit organisations, communities under financial stress renew push for campuses to contribute voluntarily

Annual measure offers significant aid increases for low-income and minority students, more modest gains for research spending

Union leaders insist support for further strikes is strong but new pressures may harden university leaders’ resolve, experts warn

Proposal to ‘link performance and funding’ the latest in an interventionist trend

National Audit Office says regulator must do more to ‘build trust’ with sector and DfE should clarify level of ‘tolerance for provider failure’

Local authorities should work in close collaboration with academic institutions to make international students feel welcome, says James Pitman

The Augar response highlights ministers’ hopes that rising costs will make certain courses economically unviable, says Alexis Brown

Frozen fee levels must rise eventually, but universities need to deliver efficiency gains through hybrid learning, says David Willetts

Warning comes as data on English student numbers suggest institutions growing international master’s cohorts

Westminster policy package described as ‘missed opportunity’ that leaves ‘difficult questions’ to be answered by next government

Survey suggests half of national associations consider higher education funding to be insufficient

An unsustainable strategic choice has been made to worsen the university offer for future students and graduates, says Chris Husbands

Flawed assumptions about how universities and statisticians would react to the trebling of fees are behind today’s retrogressive steps, says Aaron Porter

Vertical campus ‘well suited’ to small group teaching, as students navigate degrees one block at a time

Top-ranked institutions now have the autonomy to evaluate and confirm which of their own disciplines will qualify for the project

Working-class school-leavers’ fear of debts larger than their parents’ annual incomes is still a big issue, say Geoffrey Alderman and Zoe Morrison 

Annual survey of 720 campuses pegs average stockpile at $1.1 billion, up 35 per cent in year, with student aid benefiting

Higher education systems that are free to evolve have improved and adapted as times change, but more are seeing ministers determined to set the course

Belated data show that inexperienced, untenured and non-academic staff shouldered the lion’s share of job losses

Private university’s last financial statement was for 2018, despite English regulators requirement for all institutions to file annually

Higher education reform and public reinvestment are needed to realise the imagined goal of the university, argues Roopika Risam

IFS briefing says high inflation seemingly being used ‘as a cover’ to claw back taxpayer costs of higher education system

Higher inflation is set to challenge higher education everywhere, and all but the well-endowed elite will feel the bite and face difficult choices

Border restrictions, differing national Covid strategies and changing demographics have all made significant impacts on overseas recruitment over the past two years. Simon Baker examines the latest data from five major recruiting nations and considers what they might presage for the future

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology reins in plans for expansion as president announces departure

Freeze is for one year initially but ‘what really matters’ is long-term decision, economist says

Private university to offer students chance to pay for fees via future earnings agreements in deal with finance firm

The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology president discusses project-based learning, securing government funding and demographic decline

Financial accounts for 2020-21 suggest tension may now grow between saving money and investing in staff and facilities

Data reveal 69 per cent increase in outlay between 2016-17 and 2019-20 in England

Lawsuit brought by five former students of 16 top-ranked institutions alleges costly violation of limited federal exemption for coordinating scholarship packages

Covid and public funding cuts hit London arts institution, while union also criticises new bank covenants

With concerted efforts, the UK could attract far more than 600,000 international students to its shores, says James Pitman

The pandemic may just push US colleges and universities to do what they should have done a long time ago: reorganise, says Michael Hadjiargyrou

Australia’s wealthiest university locks horns with one of its own academics, who says ‘the public has a right to know’

Ontario parliament demands documents over university’s unprecedented bankruptcy, though analysis may turn to realities of bankrolling remote communities

Outside a few elite institutions promising online formats for the coming semester, campus health experts fear monetary strains may overpower medical judgement

Sector awaits key details on scheme requiring ‘complete remake of student finance system’ and likely to face Treasury scepticism

Jury takes three hours to agree nanoscience expert lied about Wuhan ties to sidestep pressure campaign against binational research partnerships

Omicron variant amplifying uncertainties, but initial indications suggest federal relief and economic growth may permit another year of post-secondary gains

Funding for green campuses, levelling up and international links would be a gift from Santa Rishi Sunak to himself, too, says Nick Isles