In response to the UK government’s higher education
restructuring scheme, announced today,
Alistair Jarvis, Chief Executive of Universities UK,
said: “This announcement is further
recognition of the severe financial challenges facing UK
universities as a result of Covid-19 and the need to support
institutions as they continue to play an important role in the
UK’s post-pandemic economic recovery, and we continue to speak
with policy makers on how best they can support the sector.
However, we would encourage government to be more ambitious, to
go beyond a small number of universities in financial need, and
to use this as an opportunity to help universities to undertake
innovative changes to maximise their contributions to the economy
and meet the needs of students and employers. UUK set out
detailsfor a broader
transformation fund to ensure high-quality provision of skills to
meet economic needs earlier this year.
“We are seeking further clarification about the scheme’s
accessibility to universities in all four nations, the process of
applying to the restructuring regime and what conditions might be
attached to any support offered.”
Notes
In UUK’s financial stability paper, we proposed a
transformation fund to support universities over the next two to
three years to reshape and consolidate through federations and
partnerships or potentially merge with other higher education
institutions, further education colleges or private providers.
This transformation fund would support some universities to
significantly change to achieve longer-term sustainability (not
just short-term stability) and ensure high quality provision of
skills to meet economic needs.
