The New Year’s policy buzz in England is the scary possibility that some major institutions, not alternative provider minnows or small specialist colleges, may fail.
A possibility rather than a probability if the Office for Students’ generally optimistic assessment of the overall financial health of the sector is accurate.
But, however likely or unlikely, the failure of a major institution would pose challenges difficult to resolve with existing policy tools such as student transfers and involuntary mergers. The impact on local and regional economies would be considerable, and the political fall-out unpredictable.
Meanwhile the policy buzz in Scotland is that free tuition (for Scottish domiciled students) is becoming unsustainable.
The Scottish Government is unable, or unwilling, to maintain adequate funding for universities and – especially – colleges. As a result the gap between funding per (Scottish) student and per home student in England has widened. Well qualified applicants are being denied places because of the student number cap, compounded by the drive to recruit more students from socially deprived backgrounds.
