Universities UK Annual Conference - Speech by UUK President Professor Malcolm Press - September 10

"Good morning and it's great to have the opportunity to speak to you all once again at this year's Annual Conference.  We're meeting at an important moment for our sector - a moment of real pressure but also a moment of real opportunity. 

During the first half of my Presidency, I've had the pleasure of visiting universities across the UK, meeting colleagues from every part of our sector, and spending time with ministers, officials and partners. For me, these conversations have reinforced two important points. 

First, universities remain one of the UK's greatest success stories. Our contribution to the country through our education, research, innovation, economic impact, and civic roles, has never been more important. 

And secondly, expectations of us are changing. Governments, employers, students, and the public increasingly expect more from our sector. 

My argument this morning centres around two key challenges that I believe we face: financial sustainability and confidence amongst the public and political leaders, neither of which can be addressed separately.  

Nor can we resolve these challenges alone without the input of governments.  I would argue that we need a partnership framework between governments and universities; one that combines greater stability and support with accountability and action from universities. If we can establish this, we can shape our own future. If we cannot, I believe that others will shape it for us.

Universities remain one of the UK's most important national strengths. Through education, research, innovation and civic leadership in towns and cities across the country, we make an enormous contribution to prosperity and wellbeing.  From positively shaping the lives of individuals and enabling young people to fulfil their hopes and dreams, to tackling the key global challenges of our time, we sit at the forefront.

But this is not a speech about why universities matter.   All of us here recognise that they do and are deeply committed to their purpose.  It is a speech about how we maintain the public trust, confidence and social licence that will determine our future.

When we last gathered, we were contemplating the potential outcomes of elections in Scotland and Wales and what these might mean for higher education.  Since then, we have seen a fifth consecutive election win for the Scottish National Party in Holyrood and an equally historic win for Plaid Cymru in the Senedd. Governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff are committed to fundamental reviews of their higher education sectors to deliver both improved outcomes and financial sustainability.

One political outcome that perhaps we didn't quite foresee last year was a leadership change within the UK Labour party. Our new prime minister has clearly set out his priorities: good economic growth in every postcode, underpinned by stronger public services, higher-level skills, and decentralised power - and we are critical delivery partners for all these ambitions. 

One of the things that has surprised me over the last year has been both the volume and pace of policy directives that have come from the UK government.  This is a clear sign, to my mind, that the government expects universities to change more quickly than perhaps we have done in the past there's a strong desire for us to go further and to go faster.  

I sense that this pressure will only increase with Andy Burnham in Number 10.  And while England may not have a higher education review in place, we do have a clear sense of direction set out in the Post 16 White Paper under Jackie Smith's leadership. 

The expectation of change in England very much mirrors the expectations that have been set out in other parts of the UK, and while the Government's 10-year plan has not yet been published, we know that universities must be at the heart of delivering it.  

Views are divided on whether we need another review of the sector, but what we do need, to my mind, is a long-term partnership framework between governments and universities a plan for higher education that we both commit to.

Governments must provide greater stability in funding, policy, and regulation, together with support where institutions need to undertake significant transition.  In return, we as universities must manage ourselves with greater discipline, demonstrate consistent high-quality outcomes, and act collectively where poor practice threatens confidence in the sector as a whole.

Such a plan would not protect us from change. It should enable and accelerate it. After all, the history of universities is not a history of standing still. It is a history of reinvention.  We have survived and thrived not by resisting change, but by responding to it, and, indeed, by often leading it.  And as the needs of our country evolve once more, so too must we.

Previous generations adapted to mass participation as the shape of the labour market changed; to internationalisation as new opportunities to attract global talent emerged; and to technological innovations so that the country stayed ahead in the global race.

Our generation must now adapt to succeed in an environment with tighter financial resources, where demographics at home and the pattern of international student recruitment are shifting, and where AI is changing the very nature of what it means to learn and to work.  

We know that some people increasingly question the value of higher education and the contribution that universities make. Many of these concerns are either unfair or unfounded, in which case we should push back with confidence and clarity.  

But where there are grains of truth, we cannot afford to simply dismiss concerns out of hand. We must respond by demonstrating how universities continue to adapt, improve, and deliver for society, and for the students who invest significant amounts of money, time and trust in their education.

As I said at the outset, these pressures crystallise around two interconnected challenges: financial sustainability and public and political confidence in the quality and value of what we deliver.

Let's take financial sustainability first.  There has been a real-term erosion of the unit of resource in all four nations of the UK, the details of which are familiar to us all and which I won't rehearse again this morning.

The recent increase in the tuition fee cap in England and Wales, and inflationary uplifts to the unit of teaching in Scotland, were important and very much appreciated.  These were tough political decisions.  

Looking ahead, I trust that the Westminster government will fulfil its commitment to indexing the fee cap to ensure the future financial health of English universities, while governments in the devolved nations will act to ensure the financial resilience of their institutions.  

But we must also be honest with ourselves. Looking back, the pace at which we have adapted to a more constrained fiscal environment has varied across the sector.  In some instances, necessary decisions may have been deferred for too long.  

Let me be clear, while government policy over the last decade or so has contributed significantly to the present situation, responsibility for institutional sustainability also rests with us, as university leaders, and with our governing bodies. 

When we make the case for investment, we should frame it through what it delivers for people and places across the United Kingdom now and in the future: graduates equipped for rewarding careers; the talent, innovation and enterprise that drive growth and productivity across our economy and public services; and discoveries that improve the quality of everyday life.

The current model whereby teaching and research are cross-subsidised by international student fee income is no longer sustainable. 

Major volaility in international recruitment is something that many of us are currently experiencing.  

Whilst some of this turbulence is caused by global factors, the major driving factor here is government policy aimed at reducing net migration.   

As a sector, we must acknowledge that this policy priority is one that has extensive public support.  But recognising the legitimacy of the objective doesn't mean supporting every instrument used to achieve it.

My view is that there is merit in revisiting the international student levy.  The levy could weaken one of the UK's most successful export sectors, reduce international competitiveness, undermine regional growth, damage a significant source of inward investment, and negatively impact on soft power.  As a consequence, it would intensify financial pressure on universities, weaken our research base and reduce the resources available to educate UK students.   

We must continue to make the case that safe and secure borders and thriving communities of international students go hand in hand.  Our commitment to responsible international student recruitment must be matched by the Home Office's commitment to sharing real-time visa processing data, speeding up decision-making, and providing greater clarity on visa refusals.

We also need to recognise shifts in the pattern of domestic student recruitment.  Since the removal of student number controls there have been winners and losers.  I worry about the consequences of these trends becoming accentuated as we begin to experience the impacts of a demographic dip in the number of 18-year-olds at a time when participation rates are unlikely to grow.  

Declining enrolments will not only impact on universities themselves but also harm the communities and regions that they serve.

Putting domestic and international recruitment challenges together, against a backdrop of rising costs, it's clear that financial sustainability remains fragile across significant parts of the sector.  

This matters because sustained financial pressure limits our room to invest, innovate, and transform. If we don't do these things, we're in trouble.

The second challenge that we face is public and political confidence in quality and value.  This debate increasingly focuses on admissions standards; continuation rates; grade inflation; work readiness; graduate employment; earnings; and value for money  we are not always painted in a good light.  The current debate about student loans has brought much of this into sharp focus.

It is important to recognise that these challenges are not evenly distributed across the sector. Most universities and programmes perform exceptionally well against these measures, even in today's difficult economic climate. And public perceptions do not always reflect this reality.

But perceptions matter. We cannot simply wave away concerns because they are not universal. Ours is a shared reputation, and the actions of one institution can affect how the entire sector is seen. This is why maintaining trust is a responsibility that belongs to all of us.

Universities operate with what might be called a social licence: the trust and consent of the public to exercise considerable autonomy, educate future generations and receive amounts of substantial tax payer money. 

This licence cannot be taken for granted. 

It is sustained only through the value of what we provide, the outcomes we achieve, and the way that we behave. 

And if we tolerate poor practice, we risk damaging the social licence of our sector as a whole.

This is why supporting the sector cannot simply mean always defending it. Sometimes our responsibility is to challenge one another, confront behaviour that falls short of our shared values, and take action ourselves rather than wait for others to do it for us.

This is not to accept the false narrative that universities are failing. Far from it. Young people place faith in us to deliver their futures, employers are asking for more graduates, and our research continues to make the world a better place.  We are home to universities that are admired across the world and rightly regarded as one of the UK's great success stories.

And while our global reputation matters, so does our impact at home.  The IFS shows that the average graduate continues to benefit substantially over their lifetime.  But that's not the only thing.  Universities contribute to health, civic participation, social mobility, and opportunity.  We impact lives as well as livelihoods.

The challenges that I've described are interconnected and should not be considered in isolation.

Financial pressure can affect quality. Perceived declines in quality undermine public confidence. Reduced public confidence weakens political support. And reduced political support makes financial sustainability harder.  

Breaking this cycle is the defining leadership challenges of our generation.  

The objective is not simply financial recovery or reputational improvement. It is maintaining quality, public confidence and financial sustainability simultaneously, and charting our own course for the future.

So what are we going to do about it?

Universities UK has designed a programme called Future Universities.  It's an initiative designed to listen, to deliver change and to show that universities are responding to the expectations of the people we serve.

Today, I'm pleased to launch its first major piece of work - Future Jobs.  This seeks to answer a simple question, one that employers, students and parents increasingly ask: how do we ensure that graduates leave university with the knowledge, skills and experience that they need to succeed.

With the support of Pearson and the British Chambers of Commerce, we listened to the voices of employers across the UK and the roadmap that we're publishing today sets out what we heard and what we'll do about it.  

It includes commitments to expand work-based learning opportunities, ensure that students can develop the confidence and capability to use AI effectively, and to extend access to university careers support throughout a graduate's working life.

These commitments reflect the fact that careers are becoming longer, less linear and more frequently reshaped by technology.  And they recognise that universities have a role not only at the start of that journey, but throughout it.

We must equip graduates with the specialist knowledge employers need today, while developing the judgment, adaptability and creativity they will need for jobs that do not yet exist.

This is Future Universities in practice: universities listening, adapting and demonstrating value, while working alongside employers to create opportunity and develop talent.  

Future Universities will demonstrate what change looks like in practice, but its success will depend on a wider shift across our sector.  This requires three things: disciplined and sustainable institutions; clearer evidence of our impact and value; and stronger collective leadership.  

To my first point, although universities are much more than businesses, we have a responsibility to manage our institutions with discipline, focus and financial rigour.  This means ensuring that our planning assumptions are realistic, focusing resources on activities that demonstrably work, being willing to stop those that do not, driving productivity, and communicating our impact more effectively.

Good governance, effective and proportionate regulation, and a commitment to long-term institutional health are all essential if we are to meet today's challenges without compromising our obligations to future generations.

Secondly, to demonstrate our value, we need to be better storytellers and clearer about our purpse.  As I said in last year's conference speech, we need to win hearts and minds.

A further announcement that I'm pleased to make today is that UUK is launching a major new programme to develop a more comprehensive assessment of the value of higher education.

This builds on a recommendation in our 2024 Blueprint, which called for a better way of measuring and demonstrating the full contribution universities make, recognising public as well as private benefit.

The opportunity here is significant. How our value is measured shapes the way that governments make decisions - on funding, on regulation and on public policy.  And it should also shape our own behaviour, by better informing us of what creates real impact on the lives of those around us.

And finally, we should strengthen our collective leadership.  

We rightly value institutional autonomy, and the diversity of missions across UK higher education is a strength.  

But the strength of Universities UK has always rested on its ability to bring together a diverse range of institutions around common goals.  At a time of significant change, maintaining this cohesion will matter more than ever. 

Our strength should not be measured by whether we always speak with one voice, but by whether we act together in defence of shared values: quality, integrity, opportunity, academic freedom, and service to the public.

A values-based membership organisation must support its members, but it must also be prepared to challenge them. Solidarity cannot mean silence when practices damage students, communities or confidence in universities as a whole.

Our collective influence, our credibility with government and the public, and our ability to shape the future of the sector will be greatest when we engage as a community of institutions united by common purpose, even where our individual circumstances differ.

I want to finish my conference address by reaffirming my optimism for the future of our sector.

I remain optimistic because universities are fundamental to the future of our country. The United Kingdom cannot achieve stronger growth, better public services or wider opportunity without successful universities.

I remain optimistic because change is not something new for us. Our institutions have navigated profound social, economic and technological change before, and we can do so again.

And most of all, I remain optimistic because universities continue to enrich lives. Every year, we create opportunities for individuals who might otherwise never have realised their potential and fulfilled their dreams.

But my optimism is not a substitute for action. It is important that governments provide stability, and support for transition. Universities must offer discipline, accountability, quality and demonstrable public value in return. 

This way we can enhance our social licence and shape our own future. This is the long-term plan for our sector.

Together, we remain one of the United Kingdom's greatest strengths. The responsibility of our generation of leaders is not simply to protect this inheritance, but to ensure that we emerge from this period of change stronger, more relevant, and more valued than ever before.

If we succeed, future generations will look back on this period not only as a time when universities were challenged, but also as a time when we adapted, renewed and strengthened our contribution to society. 

The universities we leave behind should be more trusted, more influential and more deeply connected to the people and communities we serve.  This is the responsibility we share. And it is a responsibility worthy of our very best efforts.

Thank you."