QS Quacquarelli Symonds’ Post

🇬🇧 UK universities face an economic crisis and some are faced with bankruptcy. Brexit, tuition policy and an overreliance on international students have sparked calls for reform. Benjamin Edgar attributes the crisis to outdated fee models, reliance on international student fees, and recent political decisions including Brexit and restrictions on international students. Edgar critiques the government's denial of the crisis and suggests that the situation could harm the UK's economy, international reputation, and educational system. He calls for a reevaluation of the higher education funding model to prevent potential bankruptcies, emphasising the need for awareness and debate to find sustainable solutions. #UK #UKPolitics #Economy #University #Education #Student #Conservative #Tory https://lnkd.in/eu4K5u-K

As someone who has spent nearly half my career in academia this does not make good reading for many reasons not to mention that I have many colleagues giving their best to research and teaching and they can only watch as the politics play out. The education system needs a thorough examination and we need to answer some hard questions: do we have too many Universities? University used to be the only way of getting an education but is that still the case? Is a degree still necessary to be effective in the workplace? We have postponed this discussion for too long, we cannot keep kicking the can down the road. Let’s have the discussion starting with: what is a University for in today’s society?

Around half of all Britain's 140 universities are facing deficits with a "handful" in danger of breaching financial covenants and likely to need "rescuing" - according to the author of the last major review into the UK's post-18 education landscape. Sir Philip Augar, who chaired the 2018 Augar Review, told Peter Foster at that Financial Times that failing universities may require bailouts or "turnaround teams... to slim down or rationalise the student offer". But he said that while universities had legitimate demands for more funding support - coping with inflation, frozen tuition fees and a drop in international students - the sector would need to make further cuts and find more cost efficiencies if it wants to justify demands for more government funding. "Like all organisations, universities have to live within their means and be prepared to restructure if necessary," he said. With almost 70 universities already in the process of making cuts, including job cuts, what more can be done to make further "efficiencies"? What do you think? Read the FT report here: https://lnkd.in/eSYy3CiR The comments echo those of former Labour universities minister Lord Mandelson, who said last month that in exchange for a rise in tuition fees, universities had a responsibility to “look at how they operate and to set income and revenue against costs and then take a beady eye at what they borrow, and balance all three in a way that some universities frankly have not done”. See: https://lnkd.in/eeZuGBFT I chaired a timely and vital discussion last month with leading UK vice chancellors about how UK universities can "change the narrative" to win public and government support through the funding crisis. There was an acknowledgement that universities must become more cost efficient in several key areas. You can watch it here: https://lnkd.in/eBcbvMEZ

No marks at all for the Times Higher Education claiming a "timely and vital discussion" - that should have happened several years ago. Yet again though the main cry is to "change the narrative" to win public and government support rather than accept the reality that Sir Philip Augar notes. If only the author of this LinkedIn post would read what he quotes Augar as saying, he will see that the call is for universities to "live within their means and be prepare to restructure if necessary". We have seen several universities spending millions of pounds on "restructuring" and failing to make any real difference to their fortunes. That tends to suggest poor management, strategy and execution which underpins Mandelson's comment about balancing income, cost and borrowing which "some universities frankly have not done" . As noted in a recent blog several of them have seen years of fewer and fewer domestic students while propping themselves up with the easy gains of international recruitment. https://lnkd.in/gGRjqAgC Given that it's taxpayer money that is such a significant part of the revenue some of the outcomes are a national disgrace. #ukuniversities #ukhighereducation #education #universities #leadership #management #insolvency #

𝐔𝐊 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. Six in 10 people in the UK feel international students bring a significant benefit to the economy, a new study has revealed. A recent study by the Policy Institute at King’s College London has provided insights into public opinion and their support for the number of international students at UK universities. It revealed that the majority of people recognise the significant economic benefits of international students, as well as their role in providing places for domestic students at universities. #InternationalStudents #UKHigherEd #PublicSupport #EconomicBenefits #StudentDiversity #UKUniversities #PolicyInstitute #HigherEducation #GlobalTalent #StudyInTheUK #EducationPolicy #CulturalExchange #KingsCollegeLondon

Interesting points made about the funding of Higher Education, hope it can be made easier to welcome international students and their dependents... https://lnkd.in/gkhRmgt5

Is the UK's golden age of higher education truly over, or is there still hope on the horizon? https://lnkd.in/ez2_NhQu Our in-depth analysis explores the current state of institutional performance in the UK and the challenges universities are facing. We also investigate possible paths forward - what can universities do to turn the tide? #QSInsights #IntlEd #UKHigherEducation

Aligning #universities more closely with employment is the only way for universities to reestablish their “social licence,” with a generation seriously questioning the value of #tertiaryeducation! “In August 2022, Kent Anderson from University of Newcastle said they noticed that domestic students were not applying as expected based upon historical patterns. As they went digging for answers, they found a missing group of students from the domestic #undergraduate pipeline… Economics definitely seems to be playing a role in the decision-making. Melbourne Universities Taking the Pulse of the Nation that was released in October 2023 found 60% of respondents indicated expensive tuition fees were deterring people from #university study, followed by doubts that university led to a better job. “It’s debt aversion – people fear it,” Dr. Nicoloas Salamenca from University of Melbourne was quoted. “What surprised me is there’s a large share of people that think university doesn’t lead to a better job – & #jobs that don’t require a degree here are well regarded…” The cost—both in terms of time / money & the expected return on investment (ROI) are now pivotal considerations for applicants. This generation is responding to a new reality: employers are in search of essential & adaptive #skills, not just credentials. Louise Nicol, Founder and CEO at Asia Careers Group SDN BHD & www.alsocan.com argues the responsibility for making #highereducation more accessible lies with the #universities & employers. As #degree discipline is in many cases irrelevant for more than 80% of employers, Nicol suggests perhaps the answer is allowing  students to indicate the company they wish to work for while they are studying and having a system that highlights the universities with a track record of placing graduates in their chosen company. “Young people know the companies & brands they want to work for,” said Nicol. “Students and their advisers want to know that a university degree is worth the money they are paying. Good universities want to be able to provide hard evidence that they are meeting employer needs & #student #career aspirations.” Anderson indicated all of these changes are really about doing everything possible to make #highered less scary & more of a natural progression. “We need to communicate that higher education is not elite but something everyone does,” said Anderson. “Like Grade Nine.” Asia Careers Group SDN BHD - Investing in International Futures AUIDF British Council BUILA Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) Innovative Research Universities (IRU) University Innovation Alliance (UIA) University Industry Innovation Network (UIIN) Regional Universities Network The Group of Eight UCAS UKCISA Universities Australia Universities UK Universities UK International

Great article, Professor Duncan Maskell. As you know, as Vice-Chancellor of a small, specialist University in the UK, I would encourage Jason Clare MP to consider incentives to encourage smaller, specialist institutions to become part of the landscape in Australia. We have high student satisfaction, exceed our learner outcome benchmarks and have 99.2% graduate employability. Over 30% of our students have disclosed an additional need which is relevant to their progress. Having worked at University of Warwick, Monash University and now Harper Adams University, I see the immense investment bandwidth and benefits of scale. I also appreciate its limitations. Diversity of institution will mean that every learner who wants a tertiary option can find and have one. Needs are different and the choices of institution should be so too. Harper Adams University GuildHE Universities UK Universities Australia Monash University University of Warwick #specialist #HEchoice #tertiary #tertiaryeducation #universitiesaccord #UK #australia Professor Duncan Maskell Jason Clare MP

Brilliant suggestions really more pathways the merrier. When I lived in Berrigan, that's the birthplace of Federation by the way, on the farm, one of us got to Melbourne, but that was a rural operation to study agriculture. That's a pathway though. That inspired me. And as Duncan says, we can't underestimate how from small things little things grow, like ANU from Melbourne, it's like JCU from UQ, even CDU in many ways. Between the 30+ VC's and the Government, I wish there was a solution to things like equality, so that way someone doesn't pay almost 90 thousand dollars to graduate on a basketball court here - and I know I'm pain in the neck saying that. But I still feel that our VC when he advocates for better funding models and support for remote and regional universities, he knows what's the go is here. We got to trust out leaders. When I reflect on my own experience, and how in order to get to where I am now, with a PhD offer but no stipend, so, good luck Gaz - I had to basically build my own pathway from zero to hero. People like myself who do this, often get flogged between the massive differences between the universities, from processes to intellectualisms, let alone the expenses. But this is not a whinge, because it is possible, just not easy, but changing ones stripes never is. And heaven forbid something goes wrong between your steps between Tertiary enabling, your first university, your second and then third. Often each step getting harder and more expensive than the last. As does the competition. Education may be an entitlement, but the prestige and a good university entrance is either earnt, and for many, they do it with a wide support network, something the likes of myself would never be able to comprehend their resources. Who's that American President that said, "success, breeds success"? This is also true for me though, as education is meant to be the great equaliser. I hope join these upper echelons one day to make a change. To give service to my people of the Territory, Australia and it's friends around the world. I hope that one day my humble university can grow from a little thing, into an equal. And with its namesake, evolution is possible.