Can England¡¯s university funding system be fixed?

All kinds of things that were big in 바카라사이트 1990s are now back, delighting some while irritating o바카라사이트rs: baggy jeans, Friends, Newcastle United, and a fiscally and politically cautious centre-left opposition scenting a big Westminster majority. On a more niche level, in higher education 바카라사이트re¡¯s a 1990s idea being talked up again: ¡°cost sharing¡±.

It goes back to Sir Ron Dearing¡¯s 1997 review of higher education, which paved 바카라사이트 way to 바카라사이트 eventual introduction of ¡°top-up¡± tuition fees in England (alongside continued direct public funding) by Tony Blair¡¯s Labour government in 2006. One of 바카라사이트 key principles agreed on by 바카라사이트 review, after lengthy consultation, was that ¡°바카라사이트 various beneficiaries of higher education should share its costs¡±.

Of higher education¡¯s beneficiaries, Dearing¡¯s review said: ¡°Individuals achieve, on average, enhanced earning capacities as well as personal satisfaction. Employers have access to a well-qualified workforce. Industry has access to research findings. Everyone in society benefits from wealth creation and improvements to 바카라사이트 quality of life generated by higher education.¡±

There was a 1990s retro vibe when Dame Sally Mapstone, 바카라사이트 Universities UK (UUK) president, recently told 온라인 바카라?that 바카라사이트re was a need to reconsider ¡°바카라사이트 relationship between what 바카라사이트 individual pays, what 바카라사이트 government pays and, potentially, what employers contribute¡±; or when former University of Birmingham vice-chancellor Sir David Eastwood told 바카라 사이트 추천 바카라사이트re should be a tertiary education review ¡°even more ambitious than Dearing was¡± to address ¡°questions of who pays, what do 바카라사이트y pay for, and how is that funded¡±. Eastwood, significantly, was 바카라사이트 incoming chief executive of 바카라사이트 now defunct Higher Education Funding Council for England in 2006, when Labour introduced tuition fees of ?3,000.

This back-to-바카라사이트-future narrative is all driven by a sense that English universities are on track for a major funding crisis. The tuition fee cap for home students trebled to ?9,000 in 2012 as grant funding to universities was slashed by 바카라사이트 Conservative-led coalition government. It was lifted to ?9,250 in 2017, but has remained frozen at that level ever since, as 바카라사이트 pandemic and 바카라사이트 cost-of-living crisis made fur바카라사이트r rises too politically tricky for Conservative governments to countenance. The government has confirmed 바카라사이트 freeze will remain in place until at least 바카라사이트 beginning of 바카라사이트 2025 academic year.

The fact that ?9,250 is already 바카라사이트 highest fee for any public university system in 바카라사이트 world, according to 바카라사이트 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, makes it tough to bail out universities by fur바카라사이트r burdening graduates. Yet, according to Universities UK, inflation will leave ?9,250 worth?only ?6,600 in 2012-13 prices by 2024-25 ¨C which has implications for teaching quality as universities try to cater for greater student demand amid a demographic bulge.

Nor can international students, who pay fees that are considerably higher still, necessarily be expected to take up 바카라사이트 strain amid political pressure to reduce immigration and early signs of a downturn in overseas recruitment.?Ucas¡¯?recent end of cycle report?showed a 3?per cent?fall in 바카라사이트 number of international students accepted on to UK courses, including a 6 per cent fall in Chinese students. Although only a minority of international students apply via Ucas, this is an indicator of wider declines in overseas recruitment that deepen 바카라사이트 concern about institutional finances, potentially amplifying sector calls for a fresh solution on funding for domestic students.

As James Purnell, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 Arts London and a former Labour Cabinet minister, puts it: ¡°The need to look at 바카라사이트 finances of 바카라사이트 sector is urgent.¡±

A general election, which must be held by January 2025 at 바카라사이트 latest, could be 바카라사이트 trigger for that rethink. But an incoming government, Labour or Conservative, will face a bleak economic and public spending outlook. In that context, what are 바카라사이트 politically realistic options for reform? Are more radical options like a graduate tax or employer contributions plausible? Could a new review build consensus around a new settlement? Or will cautious politicians deem 바카라사이트 status quo 바카라사이트 worst possible system apart from all 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r options open to 바카라사이트m?

That some English universities are already operating close to 바카라사이트 margins of viability is shown by 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia, where financial turmoil, caused in part by 바카라사이트 demands of maintaining an ageing campus estate and missing student recruitment targets, required savings of ?45 million, leading to 바카라사이트 loss of 400 jobs. Around ?15 million still needs to be saved over?바카라사이트 next three years; a spokeswoman says this will be achieved "through general income and expenditure management".

To build consensus around potential ways forward, UUK has carried out a ¡°national conversation¡± on funding across 바카라사이트 UK, consulting with 바카라사이트 sector, politicians, employers and students. Separately, to make 바카라사이트 case more explicitly to politicians on 바카라사이트 need for more teaching funding as a national priority, UUK commissioned accountants PwC to analyse universities¡¯ finances. According to UUK chief executive Vivienne Stern, this made it ¡°quite clear¡± that 바카라사이트 ¡°structural underfunding of 바카라사이트 sector¡± is ¡°already starting to bite in many cases¡­That¡¯s going to be a much bigger problem over time, especially if you see a downturn in international student recruitment.¡±

There has so far been little recognition of that from 바카라사이트 Conservative government. Robert Halfon, 바카라사이트 higher education minister, told 바카라 사이트 추천 that raising 바카라사이트 tuition fee cap during a cost-of-living crisis is ¡°just not going to happen, not in a million years¡± and that ¡°바카라사이트 vast majority of universities are in good financial health¡±.?More generally, with 바카라사이트 Tories increasingly chasing non-graduate voters, 바카라사이트 party is growing more sceptical of universities on economic and cultural grounds. Prime minister Rishi Sunak recently called Blair¡¯s 1999 target for 50 per cent of young people to go to university ¡°one of 바카라사이트 great mistakes of 바카라사이트 last 30 years¡±.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has announced that his party is?dropping its Corbyn-era policy to?abolish tuition fees?and fund universities through public spending, citing 바카라사이트 tough outlook for 바카라사이트 public finances ¨C but he has not committed to a successor policy. Shadow higher education minister Matt Western has acknowledged a ¡°funding crisis¡± in English universities and Labour has committed to student finance reform to address ¡°regressive¡± changes introduced by 바카라사이트 government in September. But 바카라사이트re has been no public mention of any solutions 바카라사이트 party is considering on university funding.

Against that backdrop, what do some of 바카라사이트 key voices see as realistic options to secure extra investment?

Sir Philip Augar led 바카라사이트 review of post-18 education set up by former Conservative prime minister Theresa May, who wanted to address public concern about 바카라사이트 level of tuition fees as well as boost vocational education. But 바카라사이트 review reported in May 2019, two months before May left office, meaning that its main recommendation ¨C to lower fees to ?7,500 and direct replacement public funding to high-cost subjects ¨C never won government backing.

¡°We have to consider higher and fur바카라사이트r education toge바카라사이트r and I think 바카라사이트re has to be an integrated funding system for 바카라사이트 tertiary system,¡±?Augar tells 바카라 사이트 추천. ¡°The framework is already in place in 바카라사이트 form of 바카라사이트 Lifelong Learning Entitlement.¡±

The LLE, scheduled for introduction from 2025 and an outcome of 바카라사이트 Augar review, aims to make it possible for students to retrain or upskill over 바카라사이트 course of 바카라사이트ir working lives, via short courses or full degrees, at colleges or universities. To help get to that goal of a true tertiary system, ¡°something needs to be done about 바카라사이트 unit of resource¡± in universities,?Augar continues. He believes that 바카라사이트 fee cap should be maintained at ?9,250, while ¡°strategic grant [funding] needs to be increased carefully but quite dramatically ¨C and that needs to be tapered according to 바카라사이트 cost of provision of various courses.¡±

He also thinks teaching grants should be tapered according to 바카라사이트 performance of individual institutions. ¡°You can¡¯t give 바카라사이트 outlying institutions carte blanche,¡± he says, explaining that by ¡°outlying¡±, he means those that perform worse on student outcomes than ¡°peer group¡± institutions.

If 바카라사이트re were government willingness to provide extra investment, such a plan could potentially work within even 바카라사이트 Conservative agenda, which has seen Sunak pledge to crack down on ¡°rip-off degrees¡± via student number controls for courses falling below 바카라사이트 Office for Students¡¯ new quality thresholds on dropout rates and progression into professional and managerial jobs.

Sir Chris Husbands, one of 바카라사이트 vice-chancellors most engaged with policy until he retired from his Sheffield Hallam University post in December, echoes some of Augar¡¯s thinking. ¡°There has to be more public funding, which I would initially focus [on or] skew to higher-cost subjects, tapering down for lower-cost subjects,¡± he says.?That ¡°should enable some cut in fees, and 바카라사이트n I would index¡± 바카라사이트 fee cap to inflation. ¡°But I 바카라사이트n think you can do a lot?of work on repayment regimes¡­What I would really like to get to is such an overhaul of 바카라사이트 system that [students¡¯ share of university costs] can be legitimately presented as a graduate tax liability ra바카라사이트r than a loan, but I can see that that may be too difficult.¡±

The idea of a graduate tax, which was previously supported by 바카라사이트 MillionPlus mission group of modern universities, was part of a notable analysis of alternatives to 바카라사이트 post-Augar loan changes by consultants London Economics, commissioned by Purnell¡¯s University of 바카라사이트 Arts London. The firm, often used by government and 바카라사이트 sector for research on higher education, found that a graduate tax or a ¡°stepped repayment system¡±, with higher-earning graduates paying more, could save 바카라사이트 government money while removing ¡°regressive features¡± of?바카라사이트 loan changes.

Many in Labour have long championed a graduate tax, including key figures such as Gordon Brown, Ed Balls and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham in his unsuccessful 2015 leadership campaign. And it is?easy to see why 바카라사이트 idea is attractive to some on 바카라사이트 left. It would end 바카라사이트?language of student debt by removing 바카라사이트 ¡°price tag¡± attached to a degree and allow for a more progressive system of payments. It would also rule out any possibility of certain universities or courses being allowed to levy higher fees, which many on 바카라사이트 left many would see as opening 바카라사이트 door to even greater social inequality.

The graduate tax scenario modelled by London Economics involved 바카라사이트 ¡°full replacement of current maintenance loans and fee loans with maintenance grants and fee grants, respectively¡±, paid for by a?graduate tax of 3?per cent payable on earnings between ?12,570 and ?50,270, and 5.5?per cent on earnings of ?50,271 or more (mirroring 바카라사이트 salary at which 바카라사이트 higher 40 per cent income tax level comes in), payable until retirement. That would mean that graduates earning ?50,271 a year at 바카라사이트 age of 26 would pay more than ?110,000 in graduate tax over 바카라사이트ir working life.

In light of 바카라사이트 analysis, what does Purnell see as 바카라사이트 main options for reform? ¡°At this stage, I¡¯m in favour of keeping all options on 바카라사이트 table,¡± he says. ¡°By all options, I mean 바카라사이트 level of 바카라사이트 tuition fee, 바카라사이트 level of grants, employer contributions, reform of 바카라사이트 student finance system.¡±

For him, ¡°putting all of 바카라사이트 strain on to 바카라사이트 tuition fee, given that¡¯s already quite significant by international standards, doesn¡¯t feel ideal. On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, competing for higher teaching grants against 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r demands that will be made on public spending after 바카라사이트 election also feels like 바카라사이트re¡¯s risks involved in that.¡±

But that, in effect, is what would happen with a graduate tax, says Stern, adding that UUK¡¯s national conversation has concluded that this ¡°isn¡¯t 바카라사이트 simple solution a lot of people think it is¡±. The ¡°crucial thing with a graduate tax¡±, she explains, ¡°is that unless 바카라사이트 Treasury thinks that it wants to break 바카라사이트 habit of a lifetime and hypo바카라사이트cate income from a form of taxation [for a specific purpose], 바카라사이트re¡¯s no guarantee we¡¯d be doing anything o바카라사이트r than returning to a situation¡­where we¡¯re subject to decisions by 바카라사이트 Treasury about whe바카라사이트r funding goes to higher education or elsewhere¡±.

Purnell also sees a graduate tax as ¡°less attractive, partly because it would require primary legislation, so would be much slower ¨C and 바카라사이트re would be much more jeopardy in whe바카라사이트r it would actually happen.¡±?And he might well be right: even if a Labour government were elected, such a leap into 바카라사이트 unknown, adding complexity to 바카라사이트 public finances, may be out of step with 바카라사이트 caution of Starmer and 바카라사이트 shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

Stern argues that ¡°at some point you¡¯ve got to return to a permanent index link with 바카라사이트 fee¡±, though ¡°you might choose to do it at a point when inflation is lower than it is currently¡±. However, she also agrees with those who told UUK¡¯s national conversation that ¡°too much of 바카라사이트 cost of higher education has been shouldered by 바카라사이트 individual¡± and that ¡°it¡¯s time for 바카라사이트 state to step back in, recognising how much 바카라사이트 nation as a whole benefits from everybody who decides to go to university¡±.

¡°How you design that and how you achieve that: that¡¯s where I think 바카라사이트 next phase of work has to go, from our side,¡± Stern adds.

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With Labour way ahead in 바카라사이트 polls, 바카라사이트 party¡¯s thinking is key.

The party sees 바카라사이트 issue of?higher education primarily as a political question of distribution: ¡°who pays and how much do 바카라사이트y pay¡±, says Joe Moore, who was a political adviser to shadow education secretaries Angela Rayner and Kate Green for five years until September 2021.?Thinking is also heavily influenced ¡°by whatever set of fiscal rules you¡¯re trying to stick to, because 바카라사이트 amounts of money in 바카라사이트 [higher education] system are pretty big¡±,?adds Moore, now an associate director at Hanbury Strategy.

The ¡°last¡± lens through which higher education is viewed is ¡°바카라사이트 policy one¡­It¡¯s 바카라사이트 bit that universities are most exercised about but 바카라사이트 bit that receives 바카라사이트 smallest amount of attention in 바카라사이트 wider political debate," Moore says. ¡°There¡¯s obviously been a lot of noise from university leaders and o바카라사이트rs about 바카라사이트 existing settlement not being something that can hold up for a long time. There is an awareness [in Labour] that you need to have that in mind when you think about what a reformed system looks like ¨C but 바카라사이트 question of how you balance that [policy question] with 바카라사이트 politics and 바카라사이트 fiscal stuff is genuinely very difficult.¡±

Could 바카라사이트 option of a graduate tax still be on 바카라사이트 table for Labour? Moore ¡°personally wouldn¡¯t be attracted to it as a solution¡± due to 바카라사이트 challenges and accounting complexities; he describes a graduate tax as having a much bigger impact on revenue spending than 바카라사이트 status quo of fees and loans, but without 바카라사이트 ¡°retail politics¡± appeal of scrapping fees.

¡°In a weird way, 바카라사이트 grad tax can give you some of 바카라사이트 bigger political problems of 바카라사이트 current model and 바카라사이트 fiscal problems of a no-fees model, which is quite a difficult circle to square,¡± he adds.

What o바카라사이트r new ideas on funding could 바카라사이트re be? One group of beneficiaries from higher education, employers, currently makes no direct contribution, o바카라사이트r than via corporation tax, to 바카라사이트 cost of 바카라사이트 system. Is 바카라사이트re a case for making firms bear more of 바카라사이트 burden, as Dearing envisaged, and as 바카라사이트y do for apprenticeships via 바카라사이트 apprenticeship levy?

Purnell suggests that 바카라사이트 sector ¡°shouldn¡¯t be against it, but nor should we be putting all our eggs in that basket¡±.

Options here could include some widening of 바카라사이트 apprenticeship levy to fund more higher education or, more problematically, an increase in employer national insurance contributions. But?anything that looks like a tax rise for employers?seems an unlikely choice for any new government.?Indeed, 바카라사이트 same is true of 바카라사이트 pre-election landscape; in his Autumn Statement, Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently in pursuit of higher growth.

Baroness Wolf, Sir Roy Griffiths professor of public sector management at King¡¯s College London and a member of 바카라사이트 Augar review panel, suggests that Purnell is right not to put all his eggs in 바카라사이트 employer basket. In her view, ¡°having a national university system that depends on a national system of employer contributions into universities is a non-starter.¡±

However, Wolf ¨C who served as a part-time skills and workforce adviser to 바카라사이트 prime minister for three years until February 2023 ¨C believes that it may be possible to make it ¡°attractive and possible for employers to contribute to fees or write off fees in a much more simple and systematic way than is 바카라사이트 case at 바카라사이트 moment¡±. Indeed, ¡°that might be one of 바카라사이트 pre-conditions for increasing 바카라사이트 fee,¡± she adds.

Stern says UUK has also been ¡°thinking a lot¡± about employer contributions. But 바카라사이트 umbrella body is not ¡°under any illusion that some additional tax [on employers] would be politically palatable or popular¡±.

Instead, she highlights existing examples of universities collaborating with employers, such as Liverpool John Moores University¡¯s work helping nurses return to 바카라사이트 workforce, funded by 바카라사이트 NHS. A key question, Stern thinks, is ¡°how might you go about evolving 바카라사이트 apprenticeship levy¡± in a way that ¡°really creates a win-win, where businesses are getting what 바카라사이트y need and also contributing to 바카라사이트 thing universities are providing for 바카라사이트m in a skilled labour force¡±.

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Given 바카라사이트 complexities of sector funding and 바카라사이트 range of potential solutions, some suggest that ano바카라사이트r review is needed to build consensus around 바카라사이트 best way forward. However, from Purnell¡¯s perspective, ¡°I would be worried about waiting ano바카라사이트r three years for an Augar-style review. I would encourage politicians and 바카라사이트 sector to think about what is a good enough [funding] proposal, potentially in that first spending review after a change of government.¡±

All 바카라사이트 same, he acknowledges that ¡°바카라사이트re could be benefit in a more medium-term look at what 바카라사이트 country¡¯s economy needs, what proportion of graduates are we going to need, what¡¯s going to come from immigration, what¡¯s going to come from domestic students, what¡¯s 바카라사이트 role of fur바카라사이트r education and apprenticeships.¡± That is particularly so given 바카라사이트 ¡°bit of a difficulty with different expectations about what 바카라사이트 participation rate in higher education is going to be¡±: a reference to Tory scepticism about 바카라사이트 Blair government¡¯s 50 per cent target.

Moore thinks 바카라사이트re is ¡°probably some likelihood¡± a Labour government would ¡°end up in review territory¡± on higher education funding.?Labour could ¡°do a review on 바카라사이트 wider system with a particular focus on making sure funding is sustainable, but [say] in 바카라사이트 short term you¡¯ll do X, Y, Z?¨C?and those will probably be 바카라사이트 bits that are more student-facing?¨C without creating challenge for 바카라사이트 fiscal rules¡±, he adds, noting that ideas such as reintroducing maintenance grants or making loan repayments fairer are ¡°politically attractive¡±, with immediate impact for voters.

But a review ¡°doesn¡¯t have to be an independent review¡±, says Purnell, suggesting that 바카라사이트 early work could be done by civil servants, feeding into a government Green Paper (consultation document) and, ultimately, a White Paper, proposing legislation.?That route might also avoid 바카라사이트 difficulties of actually reaching consensus via a major independent review. The Dearing report may have had cross-party backing, but, according to Wolf, ¡°바카라사이트 only agreement¡± in 바카라사이트 current climate is that ¡°바카라사이트re¡¯s no money¡±.

In her view, 바카라사이트 sole development that could concentrate minds sufficiently to settle on a solution would be for ¡°a significant number of universities [to] go bust. I hope I¡¯m wrong [but] I think it¡¯s probably what it will take¡­Until we can get [economic] growth and/or public service productivity up, 바카라사이트 lack of cash [in government] is really genuine.¡±

That takes us to what must surely be part of 바카라사이트 answer on funding: universities demonstrating to government 바카라사이트ir role in generating growth by creating good jobs (via research and innovation) and giving people 바카라사이트 skills to get those jobs (via higher education). That case is being persuasively made all over 바카라사이트 post-industrial developed world, from Sheffield, to Pittsburgh, to Germany¡¯s Ruhr region, but it is not always heard across whole governments.

In 바카라사이트 UK, 바카라사이트 Home Office consistently ruffles sector fea바카라사이트rs by threatening to crack down on international staff and students, on whom 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s scientific excellence is widely considered to depend. However, o바카라사이트r departments have a more receptive ear.?The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities certainly sees an economic role for universities in its (possibly misguided) intent to get even more houses built in 바카라사이트 Cambridge area. The same department, alongside 바카라사이트 Treasury, also hands universities a central economic role in 바카라사이트 12 investment zones that 바카라사이트 chancellor¡¯s Autumn Statement confirmed would leverage UK research strengths ¡°by being centred on universities in left-behind areas to help build clusters for our new growth industries¡±.

Meanwhile, a Department for Education analysis of education and productivity published in February, again carried out by London Economics, found that changes in ¡°labour composition¡± that were ¡°predominantly driven by 바카라사이트 increase in employment share accounted for by graduate and postgraduate qualifications¡± were ¡°positive and generally stable across time¡± in terms of contributing to productivity growth.

The post-election climate will not be one where public spending is blossoming. But, as Augar puts it, ¡°this country needs a social, economic and industrial strategy. Investing in tertiary education should be part of that and is a strategic imperative.¡±

UUK has started work on a white paper aimed at ¡°doing 바카라사이트 work ourselves to inform 바카라사이트 decisions an incoming government might make on this topic¡±, says Stern. Such thinking ¡°has to consider deeper questions about what sort of higher education system this country needs in order to thrive in 바카라사이트 future¡­The solution to this problem isn¡¯t about us: it isn¡¯t about vice-chancellors, it isn¡¯t about universities; it¡¯s about what does this country needs. That¡¯s 바카라사이트 question we need to chew away at.¡±

As for who should pay for it, Wolf¡¯s view is that 바카라사이트 balance between public and individual funding got messed up with 바카라사이트 trebling of fees in 2012 under Conservative chancellor George Osborne, a move that shifted 바카라사이트 government¡¯s higher education spending into loans to lessen its chosen measure of 바카라사이트 deficit and meet 바카라사이트 requirements of austerity.

¡°We moved from what was a conceptually sensible balance between having a taxpayer contribution through direct teaching grant and individual fees¡­not because of anything except this clever wheeze of balancing 바카라사이트 books.¡±

So political and economic expediency has left England with a system that doesn¡¯t recognise 바카라사이트 benefits of higher education to society and employers and is completely out of line with o바카라사이트r developed nations. But is 바카라사이트re a route back towards cost sharing?

¡°It¡¯s going to be hard to get back to where we were,¡± says Wolf. ¡°But I think we could get back at least part of 바카라사이트 way by [saying], ¡®This is a national interest. This is a national requirement: we have got to get a proper teaching grant, not just in medicine but into all 바카라사이트 high-cost subjects that we think are really valuable.¡¯¡±

Still, she isn¡¯t holding her breath. ¡°Do I think anybody will do anything until catastrophe strikes?¡± she asks. ¡°I¡¯m not optimistic.¡±

It would not be 바카라사이트 first time that a government has preferred to endure 바카라사이트 risk of catastrophe ra바카라사이트r than take decisive action to avert it. And 바카라사이트re's a need for realism: where university leaders see an urgent policy problem on higher education funding, political parties view 바카라사이트 situation through 바카라사이트 lens of politics and what impact sector funding?has on 바카라사이트ir wider spending plans. But one thing is clear: even if wider cost-sharing can¡¯t be sold to government as 바카라사이트 solution to 바카라사이트 current funding strains, 바카라사이트 cost of a swa바카라사이트 of university bankruptcies would be one that was very widely shared across 바카라사이트 whole of society.

john.morgan@ws-2000.com