In a new HEPI Debate Paper, Universities are boxed in: Is
there a way out?, Professors Diana Beech and André Spicer of
City St George's, University of London, argue UK higher education
institutions are boxed in on six sides:
- by increasing regulation;
- by rising costs;
- by the falling income for each domestic student;
- by uncertain future demand from international students;
- by an increasing availability of alternative routes; and
- by a shrinking population.
The authors outline the many ways in which university leaders are
responding and include 20 recommendations for managers, governors
and policymakers aimed at building purposeful partnership. The
final recommendation is to ‘Reunite research and higher education
under a single ministerial portfolio in a business-focussed
department'.
The report emerged from a meeting of minds. While Professor Beech
had been talking to university boards about a basic ‘HE box', it
was not until she spoke to the Council of City St George's just
before joining the institution in a senior role that this box
came to life via Professor Spicer's thinking and
change-management experience. The blend of HE policy and business
insights from the two authors shines light on the many pressures
facing universities and outlines various options to relieve the
situation.
Professor Diana Beech, co-author of the report,
said:
‘This report is a strategic wake-up call for university
boards and executive teams everywhere. It offers not just a
diagnosis of the multiple pressures boxing institutions in, but a
practical framework for renewal – empowering leaders to make
informed and courageous decisions that will shape the future of
UK higher education.
‘As a governor, academic leader and former policymaker
myself, I have watched the “HE box” develop apace from various
perspectives. Yet while the box is real, it is not
inevitable.
‘With bold leadership and a reimagined compact with
government, the sector can move beyond survival and reclaim its
role as a cornerstone of national prosperity and
innovation.'
Professor André Spicer, the other co-author of the
report, said:
‘Higher education leaders find themselves boxed in by
regulation, changing student demand, increasing costs and many
other factors.
‘The question leaders in the sector need to ask themselves is
how are they going to deal with this box: are they going to learn
to live within it, try to break out of the box, or seek to build
new boxes to operate within? The answers they come up with are
likely to shape the sector for decades to
come.
‘Higher education appears to be facing a moment of profound
transformation. Instead of thinking they are utterly unique,
leaders in the sector should try to learn from moments of
transformation in other sectors. This might help institutions
identify how they can move forward in profoundly challenging
circumstances.'
List of recommendations
University leaders
- Build collective understanding of
strategic challenges
- Develop a coalition for action
- Embrace reductive innovation
- Take multilayered action
(strategic, operational and financial)
- Search for longer term innovations,
not just short-term efficiencies
- Take robust action to provide room
for transformation and flexibility
- Learn lessons when change projects
come to an end
University governors
- Determine clarity of mission
- Realign expectations
- Seek out skills in transformation
- Gather a diversity of views
- Determine risk appetite
- Understand the underlying activities
- Consider alternative models
Policymakers
- Enable flexible and mission-oriented regulation
- Incentivise strategic consolidation and collaboration
- Stabilise and rebalance core funding
- Support diversification of income streams with strategic
investment
- Unlock talent, capacity and resource through skilled
immigration reform
- Reunite research and higher education under a single
ministerial portfolio in a business-focussed department
Notes for Editors
-
Diana Beech joined City St George's,
University of London, in April 2025 as the inaugural Director
of the new public policy hub, the Finsbury Institute. She is
also Professor and Assistant Vice-President of Policy and
Government Affairs. One was Diana's previous roles was Director
of Policy and Advocacy ay HEPI. She is Vice-Chair of the Board
at the University of Worcester.
-
André Spicer is the Executive Dean of Bayes
Business School, City St George's, University of London. He is
also Professor of Organisational Behaviour and has worked with
a range of large organisations including Barclays, IBM, Jaguar
Land Rover, Allianz, Transport for London, the Civil Aviation
Authority, the Bank of England and the Houses of Parliament.