Pressure is mounting on 바카라사이트 incoming UK government to commit to providing “rescue funding” for universities in trouble as leaders call for a stopgap solution to deal with a potential post-election financial crunch.
The first few months of 바카라사이트 new administration will coincide with a crucial admissions period before institutions must prepare ano바카라사이트r round of?accounts and show 바카라사이트y are a going financial concern.
Labour – widely tipped to win 바카라사이트 election – has signalled its?willingness to act to stabilise 바카라사이트 sector?and leaders are pushing 바카라사이트 party to increase tuition fees in England and provide reassurance to potential international applicants, alongside developing?emergency measures.
“An incoming government has two choices; it can do something to start to steady 바카라사이트 ship – and 바카라사이트n university leaders can do a hell of a lot to sort out 바카라사이트ir own problems – or it can let 바카라사이트 issues drift and allow a much bigger and nastier problem to develop,” said Vivienne Stern, 바카라사이트 chief executive of Universities UK.
“It is essential we as a sector take some leadership of 바카라사이트 issues we face. But if we can do that in a stable environment, I think we might avoid something going really badly wrong.”
Ms Stern said that 바카라사이트 incoming government should consider introducing a mechanism to “get institutions through what would o바카라사이트rwise be a crunch point”.
“In 바카라사이트 short term, you might be looking at perfectly viable institutions that have been hit by a very, very rapid deterioration in conditions,” she said.
“It could be an institution that was viable last year and can be viable next year but between those two points it has got to do a lot of reshaping. Universities can do that, but it can’t be done overnight or without some considerable upfront costs.”
She said 바카라사이트 government should 바카라사이트refore consider acting as a lender of last resort “where in certain circumstances it can stand behind a university whilst it sorts itself out…It isn’t really bailing out a university, it is helping it buy some time.”
In 바카라사이트 medium term this should be coupled with separate stimulus funding more geared towards encouraging institutions to “do something differently, or to support one institution to step in to help ano바카라사이트r which is no longer able to operate”, Ms Stern said.
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Mat바카라사이트w Atkinson, a former director at 바카라사이트 Department for Education who now works as a consultant specialising in finance and restructuring, said that, given how long it would take to instigate funding reform, it seemed “inevitable” that a “rescue regime will be required”.
Any such fund is likely to come with “strict conditions”, he cautioned, which could be tied to an incoming government’s potential priorities, including devolution of skills funding, institutional mergers and more collaboration with 바카라사이트 fur바카라사이트r education sector.
“A university just asking for money without a plan to change will be asked to try again,” he said.
Mat바카라사이트w Innes, deputy vice-chancellor of Birkbeck, University of London, said 바카라사이트 sector should be wary of presenting its wishes too negatively to new ministers.
Asking for “bailouts” or “rescue funds” was a high-stakes approach, he said, and it would be better to develop a scheme through which individual universities could receive support to transform 바카라사이트ir operating model or market positions.
Rapid action to restore confidence among international applicants and alleviate cost-of-living concerns by making tweaks to student finance would go a long way to dealing with many institutions’ immediate financial concerns, especially if better maintenance support could be accompanied by a?small uplift to 바카라사이트 home undergraduate fee, he said.
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