NUS UPDATE: HEFCE - FUNDING CUTS HIT UNIVERSITIES AND STUDENT PLACES ARE REDUCED

Protest Saturday UCU and students. Soas people meet soas steps 11am to join up with UCL.   

on SOAS steps today 12-30-1.30

**Sent on behalf of Aaron Porter, NUS Vice President (Higher Education)** 

Dear all, 

As you may have seen this morning, the Chief Executive of the Funding Council in England (HEFCE) has written to heads of institutions detailing the provisional funding allocations to institutions for 2010/11, and has given further details of student numbers for next year. 

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will distribute £7,356 million to 130 universities and higher education colleges, and 123 directly funded further education colleges, for the academic year 2010/11. Although the total grant of £7,356 million for 2010/11 is a reduction in cash terms of £573 million compared to the budget for 2009/10 of £7,929 million, this is largely due to the bringing forward of £250 million of capital funding from 2010/11 into 2008/09 and 2009/10. 

Adjusting for this capital shift, the underlying reduction in grants from 2009/10 to 2010/11 is £123 million - 1.6 % in cash terms. 

The BBC are reporting that three quarters of England's universities are facing real-term budget cuts this year. 

The attached spreadsheet contains summary grant allocation data for each institution. Please study it closely as it provides a breakdown of total teaching funding into widening participation and student success funding, total research funding, moderation funding, the higher education innovation fund, total recurrent grants and, crucially, the percentage change from 2009/10 funding. 

Full data tables for institutions with more useful information are detailed here: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2010/10_08/ 

The changes in allocations to individual universities and colleges vary depending on changes to the funding of research, funding of additional student places, reductions in targeted allocations which have formed part of teaching grants and the withdrawal of moderation funding. 

There will also be controls on student numbers that mean the number of student places for 2010/11 entrants will decrease from 2009/10 and estimates of the overall reduction vary between 5,000 and 15,000. This is despite a 23% rise in university applications for the year ahead and a student places crisis that left more than 100,000 applicants disappointed last year. It is clear that many applicants look to be disappointed this year unless there is urgent action to create additional student places. 

On the basis of these announcements, we have today warned of a summer of chaos, as cuts were announced for almost half of institutions and the number of student places for the coming year was reduced. 

Wes Streeting, NUS President said: 

"With record demand for places at a time of looming cuts, urgent action must be taken to fund an expansion of places to meet demand. Potential students and their families need honesty and openness about how the mounting crisis in university places will be addressed. We must ensure that those with the ability and aspiration to benefit from higher education will not be left out in the cold this autumn. 

"We are now seeing the real impact of cuts spelled out for universities and students. Short term cuts will cause long term damage to students and universities. The Government, and those who aspire to govern, must rule out further cuts to education, research and student support." 

UCU General Secretary Sally Hunt said: 

"We believe the cuts could lead to thousands of jobs being lost and the staff who survive the cull left with more students to teach and less time to spend with them.  The consequences of the cuts will be building projects on hold, class sizes growing where jobs are lost, thousands of students denied access to university and staff following them to the dole queue". 

NUS is liaising closely with UCU about the impact of cuts to ensure that students, staff and the educational community are protected and will be working to develop relationships between students' unions and local trade union branches as cuts are implemented. We will keep you posted. 

In the meantime, I encourage you to read our existing support for those who are facing cuts: 

http://www.officeronline.co.uk/education/articles/277164.aspx 

Please do get in contact if you need further help, assistance. To provide direct support to members we have a dedicated email address - cuts@nus.org.uk - and helpline - 0207 380 6659 

I strongly urge you to stay in contact with your institution ready to ensure that you are involved in any decisions that may impact on provision or the student experience. 

Do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any further questions.

Best wishes,

 

Aaron Porter

 

Vice President (Higher Education), NUS

email: aaron.porter@nus.org.uk

tel: 0871 221 8221

fax: 0871 221 8222

Follow me on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/AaronPorter

 

websites: www.nus.org.uk & www.officeronline.co.uk

address: NUS, Centro 3, Mandela Street, London NW1 0DU