Which Universities are most at risk financially, post-COVID?

[ComeBy]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53280965

Any views on which establishments are most at risk?

Should the Government look at the provision overall and what the UK sector needs and intervene to support and cull, saving the educationally, strategically and financially most important, rather than leaving it to a survival of the fittest or Devil take the hindmost?

I am a firm believer in returning to qualifications like the old HND that were just below degree level. Young people on them were sponsored by employers. They then needed two years to top up to a degree.

There are so many degree courses that just top the HND/C qualification by adding one year and that’s not academic enough. It’s why firsts are relatively easy to get from some universities. These students wouldn’t and couldn’t get a first from a top 10 university. So being honest about the quality of the degree might be a start.

Once quality is required, this cuts down the number of universities required. 50% of 18 year olds don’t go to university. It’s 50% of 18-30 year olds. I do want an educated workforce but these qualifications do not have to be degrees. No one complained about green keepers without degrees. Or even nurses without degrees. Degrees were for the fast track performers in a discipline. Required by professional bodies but not necessarily for everyone at 21/22.

Every standard subject has now spawned a thousand subjects we never knew we needed. These are the new subjects that could be culled. Not Classics (that very old subject) where you have to be very clever to do it, or even Ancient History or Arch and Anth. All of which are at least academic subjects. There are degree subjects which never were degrees, eg Marketing, HR, Events Management and others that can easily be done by someone with a decent degree and post grad study. They don’t need to be studied at 18. All this has done is transfer the cost onto the student and most often the Government.

I don’t believe all technical subjects should be taught at technical colleges either. Engineering and architecture are academic. The best engineers end up as members of chartered institutions. You wouldn’t think a doctor or dentist shouldn’t go to university so it’s important to understand engineering and architecture are similar in qualification time and status.

I don’t believe all technical subjects should be taught at technical colleges either. Engineering and architecture are academic.

Engineering covers a wide span of fields and abilities. I'd take a guess the maths on some of them is harder than some maths degrees.

Universities facing wipe-out if China bans its students from coming to the UK to study Some top universities in that list.

I took engineering to mean courses that lead to Chartered status. They are academic. Incorporated engineers are BEng educated. Below degree level is suitable for being educated at a technical college but they will always be second class.

Can’t read the full Times article but I know that Liverpool has an unusually high number of Chinese students - I don’t know whether their other financials are strong enough to make up for their loss.

I think you have to pay to see the list but it’s based on those with over 20% Chinese students and therefore greatest potential loss of income:

Imperial, UCL, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield and Warwick. DH commented that many of these are well known for Science and subjects such as Maths and Engineering (STEM) which have long been subjects that attract Chinese students.