Surprise cuts in funding for specialist provision handed out at late notice by the UK government will “exacerbate existing funding pressures” and inevitably lead to more course cancellations, providers hit hard by the decision have said.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has slashed the money given to the Office for Students for “strategic priorities” by more than ?100 million and instructed the regulator to give priority to courses that are seen as supporting high-growth sectors.
Alex Proudfoot, chief executive of Independent Higher Education, said it was a “body blow” for institutions and their students “at the worst conceivable time”, given the amount of financial pressure many are already facing.
“We are told time and again – including by ministers – that failures in the governance of higher education institutions are responsible for their woes,” he said, adding that these words now “stick in the craw”, given they face a “brand new financial crisis brewed entirely in Whitehall”.
“Barely two months before the start of the academic year, and without any hint of a warning, hundreds of thousands of pounds have been stripped out of budgets long since approved, for courses long since timetabled, for students whose places were long since confirmed.”
Some providers have decried the removal of funding for accelerated degree programmes – which were?promoted by the previous Conservative government?– arguing that this change will ultimately cost the taxpayer more.
Typically, students on these courses complete them in two years instead of three, reducing the size of the maintenance loan they take out and theoretically enabling them to enter the job market faster.?
“These programmes meet the growing demand from students pursuing specialist degrees – particularly those addressing the skill shortages in creative industries – who want to gain expertise quickly and efficiently,” said Rory Curley, chief executive of London’s Central Film School.
“The current system burdens the most disadvantaged students with the highest debt, undermining social mobility and depriving industries of skilled professionals from diverse backgrounds,” he continued.?
“Making it harder for [institutions] to offer accelerated programmes will only increase costs for both students and taxpayers.”
Proudfoot added that the changes “will inevitably mean some courses being cancelled, with a direct hit to the sustainability of some institutions at a time when financial pressures are everywhere”.
In a letter outlining the cuts, the education secretary says the guidance was against a backdrop of “the extremely challenging fiscal context” the country faces.
Phillipson has also asked the regulator to save money on student premiums – money given to disadvantaged and disabled students – and high-cost subject funding by disregarding courses delivered by most franchise providers.?
This follows her?pledge earlier this year to crack down?on franchise provision after it emerged that some providers were admitting non-genuine students who wished to access government-backed loans.?
But Proudfoot described Phillipson’s latest actions as “a sledgehammer policy that could force universities and colleges into costly mid-contract changes and have a material impact on the student experience”.?
Others have criticised the move to shift funding away from media studies, journalism, publishing and information services courses in favour of programmes that support high-growth sectors.?
“The persistent ‘Mickey Mouse’ myth attached to media and journalism degrees detracts from the fact that these programmes are not only academically rigorous but also central to the UK’s creative and economic future,” said Doug Specht, head of the School of Media and Communication at the University of Westminster.?
“They are vital engines of economic growth, regional development and democratic health.”
Brooke Storer-Church, chief executive of GuildHE, welcomed the government’s “ongoing commitment to specialist funding streams” but warned that the overall cuts to funding “will exacerbate existing financial pressures”.
She told?Times Higher Education?that the decision to name specific courses to defund feels “like a really odd choice” that looks “nefarious at worst and, at best, really tone-deaf”.?
“It reeks of government control in terms of directing subjects to be supported and, given what’s happening overseas and in our own political system with free speech and freedom of the press, I feel it’s bad timing to be…pointing to those specific subjects.”
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