Much is made of the higher education funding crisis – and we could well ask how we got here.
Universities will blame inflation and reduced government funding. But in truth during the last decade most universities have received an international funding windfall from international student recruitment, in the UK alone this is in the region of around £20 billion a year over the last two recruitment cycles .
It would be fascinating to know how all that money has been spent.
Looking to the future, how universities are funded needs to change. It is highly unlikely any more funding will be forthcoming from the government, with many demands on the public purse and universities at the bottom of the list when it comes to priorities. It is hard to argue that compulsory education and health should not be prioritised over higher education post-pandemic, with higher education having received that windfall in overseas revenue over the last three years.
It is only reasonable for domestic tuition to rise with inflation. It may be worth starting this when inflation falls to below 5 per cent, and I appreciate that universities will have to absorb the lost value to date – that said it is to be hoped that domestic tuition rising in line with inflation is the reality students, universities and policy makers will face sooner rather than later.
