Choosing in a climate of spending cuts
Something is spreading throughout universities across the country. Like a
horror movie zombie plague universities are feeling the dreaded ‘pinch’ and the
results could be grizzly.
For some it means job cuts and, as lecturers lose their jobs (or if courses
just aren't popular enough), it can also mean whole departments or subjects
being axed. Some unis are merging and clinging on to each other to stay alive.
Some universities may even have to close down altogether.
Middlesex
University has already closed the doors to its Philosophy department
due to a falling number of applicants. Other unis may follow suit should courses
fail to attract students.
Smaller colleges have already been merging. Dartington has joined up with
Falmouth and
Lampeter
has been sucked into
Trinity
University College.
Meanwhile some places have been running on IOUs for quite a while –
Cumbria
University has had mounting debts (currently estimated at around £30
million) since its birth in 2007.
Obviously
all this could leave you in a spot of bother. The course – or even the
university – you want might suddenly disappear. It could vanish before you
apply, before you start studying or, most worryingly, halfway through your
course.
Universities
would usually try to minimise the impact on students of course closures, but
even if they keep it floating along till the flotsam of a now-defunct course
have graduated, would you really want to be aboard that sinking ship? And if the
whole uni's going down, issuing life rafts may not be their top
priority.
The
knock-on effect is that universities may start putting more pressure on the
Government to raise or even remove the student tuition fee cap – meaning they
could charge you almost anything they wanted.
What
can we do about it? Suss out the odds as far in advance as you can, speak to
your potential university and department. Are there staff cuts planned? Are
there any cost cutting measures that might impact you? They might be a bit
cagey, but don't be afraid to ask. If you get a feeling that the finances are
more red than rosy, you may decide to play safe.
Failing that, just keep your ears peeled and your eyes to the ground (or something):
- Follow the newspaper education pages,
- Google for news results about your uni
- Check Push.co.uk to keep yourself clued up on the latest developments.
If Push
knows about financial problems, we'll post them in
the Uni profiles, but
don't assume we'll always have the skinny on what's often a very sensitive
topic.
Last updated on: 29 July 2010