Universities UK has responded to today's circular letter from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) setting out how funding cuts to universities will be distributed.
Professor Steve Smith, President of Universities UK, said: “The funding council’s circular confirms the level of cuts announced before Christmas. One month after the announcement of £915 million cuts to the HE sector by 2013, this letter appears to indicate that the cuts are even deeper than expected. This includes a new £51 million cut in year-end flexibility for HEFCE.
“This will leave universities in England with £449 million less than they had expected for 2010-11. The lack of clarity about the £600 million saving sought by 2012-13 will also cause a great deal of uncertainty for the sector.
“While HEFCE has done an admirable job of making difficult decisions, the continued uncertainty about the nature and scale of the cuts puts a real additional pressure on universities’ ability to plan effectively. The cuts represent a reduction of 4.6% in the unit of funding - the amount of teaching support for students. In the long term, this has the potential to threaten universities’ ability to offer the high-quality experience our students deserve and expect.
“In terms of university applications, we expect to see a further increase in numbers this year. With the confirmation that student numbers will be capped again this year, we are going to see even more pressure on places and the possibility of many well-qualified students missing out. According to HEFCE, around £10m will be clawed back from universities who over-recruited in 2009-10, and Universities are under threat of similar penalties in 2010-11.
“The higher education sector is prepared to take its share of the pain, but universities must receive confirmation that there will be no further cuts.”
ENDS
Notes
- To see today's circular letter from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), visit: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2010/grant1011/