Gareth Morgan
We are joined by Dr Juliet Chester, today, Head of Policy and Data Analysis at Universities UK, to talk about some of the funding issues facing higher education. There’s been a lot of talk of there being a funding crisis facing universities- would you say that that’s the case?

Dr Juliet Chester 
Certainly an urgent need for reform because of the imminent cuts in public spending that could affect universities, so there’s a lot at stake what we need to find is a funding solution otherwise universities students, potential future students, could be in a very difficult position.

If we don’t its going to be self defeating; the UK economy needs to grow in new ways, universities are going to be critical in this. So this is a big test for the coalition government, we think that higher education funding could be a really important issue for them and we have a time frame in which to find a solution. Lord Browne is conducting a review into higher education funding and student finance- this is an independent review going to report to government, we expect recommendations this autumn and it’s around the same time as the government is going to announce the overall public funding settlements. So this is a really important time for us.

Gareth Morgan
As part of this process what are the solutions what has been looked at?

Dr Juliet Chester 
Well there are a number of possible solutions being debated at the moment, lots of things for this independent Browne review to consider. I think one thing we do need to remember is there is no such thing as ‘free higher education’ - this is something that Vince Cable has recently pointed out. Somebody has to pay. And what we have at the moment is a mixture of public and private contributions; we think this makes sense- higher education benefits both the individuals who take part and society more broadly. We’ve heard a lot about graduate tax recently following the secretary of state’s speech, I think the thing we need to remember is that the system of fees and loans that was introduced under the last government already allows students to pay through a graduate contribution which is linked to their earnings. It also has some benefits, gives students a choice, links their contribution they make directly to their place they studied and at universities UK we think these are really important features of the system. So whilst cuts in public funding are looming there is the prospect through the Browne review of increased funding for universities on the basis of changes, recommended changes that might come from Lord Browne’s review, such as the increasing private contributions in some way. Key thing is that parliament has to agree these recommendations and even then even if we get that approval we’d face a time lag in terms of phasing in a new system. It has to be done in the interests of students. So what we need is a rational approach to funding settlement that is going to help us, whether what is going to be a difficult time over the next five years, critically preserve our world class high quality university system. I don’t think the UK can afford to risk losing this asset especially given fierce global competition.

Gareth Morgan
So based on these pressures what are universities themselves doing in response to this?

Dr Juliet Chester 
Well I think it’s important to say that our university system is full of institutions that are evolving, dynamic, flexible, have been used to dealing with change over a number of years. I think this is unchartered territory, the scale of the cuts to public funding that have been talked about and the timescale as well.
And I think what we’re saying is we need time to adjust, to look at the things that are being proposed- not in our own interests; not in the interests of universities per se ,but in the interest of students the economy and society. It’s important to say as well what we have done. We recently published a report called Making it Count which highlighted what universities had done with the income from variable tuition fees. It showed how this income had helped them to improve all aspects of the student experience, stabilise the financial position, there’s a real risk that this good work could be undone. We know the government talks about doing more with less- we’re serious about looking for efficiencies in the system, but we do have to be realistic and cuts will have an effect- in our view, the university sector wasn’t adequately funded before now, so there isn’t a lot of fat to trim in the system. It is important to say as well I think that the most important judges of what we offer in terms of teaching are students and the surveys of students and employers, show high levels of satisfaction with the quality of UK higher education. This is a real national asset. Over eighty percent of students, for example, surveyed in the national student survey 2009, were satisfied with what was being delivered.
But we’re not complacent. We want to, we’re committed to offering the opportunity of higher education to all those who can benefit from it, that’s changing, that’s changed over recent years there are more opportunities for different ways of studying- part time study, mature learners; and we want to see how that can be developed. We also have put an awful lot of work into looking at all the factors that might indicate students’ potential in admissions and making sure that we are really making the most of all the talent out there. So these are the kind of things that we are doing and that want to continue.

Gareth Morgan
Juliet, thank you very much

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