Universities in deficit

[tizalinatuna]

Does anyone know where we can find out in one place a report on which universities are financially struggling, as per Times article below. I think it.mrntions the 8 but wondering about the wider 30. It is to do with a proposed job change. Don't want to jump from the frying pan into the fire

"While the turmoil at UEA is extreme, its financial struggle is not unique. Thirty universities and colleges are grappling with deficits and for eight, the situation is so serious that they are forced to report regularly to the Office for Students regulator."

There is HESA KFI data that shows surplus (deficit) here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/kfi

The best column to look at is the excl. pensions adjustment one.

There can be reasons why a university might appear to be temporarily in deficit, but for most the data will give an idea.

I tried so hard to find a free copy of that Sunday Times article...

Every financial crisis is unique, snurk. New Opportunities are still coming up for me at UEA (just about). Other institutions may have much more unfixable structural problems.

Now Kent announces compulsory redundancies. Feel anxious as academic but also as parent about to send DD off to a non hallowed (i.e. overstuffed) Russell Group uni. Woe.

I tried to post a link to it, but MN has hidden it...

If you go to archive dot ph, and put in the link to the paywalled version in the bottom field, you should be able to read the full article.

Thanks for that archive tip @Alaimo Didn't know that and better than 12 ft ladder.

ha! I have a collaborator at Kent. I'd say their financial position is as brutal as UEA's, from gossip I heard, and has been for longer. Or maybe they are better at taking tough decisions. UEA is well known for being quite 'nice', very very collaborative attitude between schools (not seeing every other group as rivals for same grants). It's very striking the stories I hear about supposed high ranking Unis how silo'd the workers are, where each research group views others at same institution as rivals. At the lower rungs of academia, we constantly try to collaborate with each other to build on mutual strengths. This strategy worked especially well for getting EU grants. NIHR is more interested in multi-institution collaboration than research councils, we perceive. The RCs are much more cut-throat & signed up to RG attitude : ie, give all the grant money to Oxbridge, London, & a few big others, reputation based allocation.

It seems the University of Brighton is announcing redundancies as well.

This is useful https://wonkhe.com/blogs/hesa-spring-2023-financial-data/. It is the HESA data but in cool graphs

The government have introduced a scheme whereby students can no longer bring their partner to live in the UK while they are studying. This, the cost of fees and the 'hostile' environment in the UK to anyone ' foreign' are all adding to the financial problems in universities. The economic model relies heavily on bringing in income from overseas students. Plus post Covid, fewer home students are considering HE. I am now retired but my old university colleagues, where I used to work, tell me that the uni and the sector, is in dire straights. There have been brutal cuts, a recruitment freeze and even more reliance on staff ' volunteering' to do more. It's the same with schools. A woeful underfunding for the past 14 years has led to the laying off of teachers, crumbling school buildings and a reliance on teachers paying for basics. One teacher is climbing a mountain to raise money for a new school boiler. Like many sectors we have no plan, no strategy and no interest from government in improving anything.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/2023/10/28/british-universities-financial-crisis-losing-students-cash/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Russell%20Group's,the%20end%20of%20the%20decade.

Yes the new immigration rules are having a massive impact on overseas numbers. Apparently the overseas students are now looking at Canada more as well as some universities in South Asia which are getting a good reputation.

Universities continue to make a loss on many home students, fees haven’t been increased in a very long time. Bills are going up for universities, wage increases for staff. The new pension rules coming in are going to add 5% to the wage bill. Recruitment freeze where I work with possible redundancies. My work load planner is over 100% and we desperately need someone else in the team. I’m going to have to reduce timetabled teaching for next academic year as I’m not going to carry on working over 100%.