More mergers between universities could be on the cards, sector chief says
Nearly half of higher education institutions have been forced to close courses to reduce costs, a Universities UK survey suggests.
More mergers between universities could be on the cards as a result of growing financial pressures, a higher education sector chief has suggested.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said university leaders are considering forming higher education groups which look similar to multi-academy trusts in the school sector.
Her comments come as a survey by UUK, of 60 universities, suggested that almost half have been forced to close courses for students in order to reduce costs.
The majority of survey respondents (88%) said they may need to consider further course closures or consolidation of courses over the next three years.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Ms Stern said: “It’s not a sort of situation where you can just cut costs around the edges and manage that way.
“We think this university sector is going to have to go through a major transformation in order to cope with what, I think, are going to be sustained financial pressures.
“It’s a really critical moment and we’ve got to roll our sleeves up and deal with it. We need Government on the pitch too, though.”
The Government is due to set out its plan for higher education reform in the summer.
When asked whether there are too many universities in the sector, Ms Stern said: “I think there will probably be a few mergers of universities.
“We’ve got a lot of members talking about doing interesting things like formation of group structures. Things that look a little bit like multi-academy trusts.
“So I think there might be a bit of consolidation in the sector.”
Universities could be “named and shamed” if they give their vice-chancellors large pay packages while delivering poor outcomes for students, the Times newspaper has suggested.
The paper reported that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson could publish league tables detailing pay at universities where significant numbers of graduates do not go on to good jobs or further education.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on the reports, Ms Stern added: “It’s never easy to persuade somebody that vice chancellors’ pay is reasonable. But these are really difficult, complex jobs.
She added: “They’re very well paid, but they’re paid well to do an extraordinarily difficult job.”
University leaders across the country have been warning of significant financial concerns as a result of frozen tuition fees paid by domestic students and a fall in the number of international students.
An analysis by the Office for Students (OfS) in November suggested that nearly three-quarters (72%) of higher education providers in England could be in deficit by the next academic year (2025-26).
It came after the Government announced that undergraduate tuition fees in England, which have been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, would rise to £9,535 for the 2025-26 academic year.
A Department for Education (DfE) spokeswoman said: “The Secretary of State has been clear that, as part of wider reform of the system, there must be a renewed drive for efficiency in the sector, including much less wasteful spending.
“This Government inherited a sector facing serious financial risk and remains committed to fixing the foundations of higher education to secure the sector’s long-term financial sustainability and deliver change for students.”
