Some universities will go bust thread 2

[GinForBreakfast]

Continuing as thread 1 has filled up.

It's not uncommon for universities to have campuses in other countries or to have partnerships with overseas universities which mean their degrees are delivered in those countries.

Depending on the nature of the agreement this can mean UK staff flying out to a country to teach a course which is fully validated and administered by the UK university. This is the least risky option but is expensive!
Other options are duel degrees and franchise models.

@ElaineMBenes - but it is a potential growth area for UK unis? In places like India, in particular, where there is demand for UK style university education and it is respected as a brand and where the local Governments themselves have not managed to provide enough higher education. A middle class Indian cannot stretch to UK university overseas fees plus UK renting/living costs, but can stretch potentially to a UK style university education in India.
Personally, I think if our Governments are not going to value the huge talent in uni sector or private education, then all these institutions should start looking at markets where they are indeed valued. Why left dogma get in the way. Doesn’t make sense to me. UK education is universally valued, all over the world.

Universities are doing this and have been for years.
It is quite complicated and can be risky though, and there are different models from full campuses to single course delivery.

And a UK university delivering their programmes overseas are still subject to the same quality assurance standards as they are back home.

Like this, announced last week.
that university has 115k undergrads.

thepienews.com/exeter-university-branch-campus-egypt-cairo/

Yes, this one’s interesting as it’s the first in the region - though of course Exeter has been building strong links with the Arabic-speaking world for decades, so it makes sense and can be expected to yield benefits both for Exeter students and Egyptian ones.

Quite a lot have a toehold in India now I think, or are looking at it - QUB, Coventry, Surrey, Newcastle and no doubt others. Kazakhstan is also a target for some.

University of Dundee vying for pole position in the increasingly competitive race to go bust first:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0520y092po

One aspect which is too difficult to go into much detail on is the complex nature of university finances. In the same way that Enron looked like a successful company until it didn't, accounting practices and assumptions could be masking other vulnerabilities in the sector.

TBH I don't understand how any of the Scottish unis stay solvent if they don't have huge reserves. English ones struggle and they get the £9000+ fees. Presumably they need to attract English students but why would they want to do a four year course and have to pay for an extra year's accommodation if they didn't have to?

According to IFS calculations, Scottish universities get an annual amount of £7,610 per Scottish student direct from the Scottish government - so significantly less than rUK students pay.

https://theferret.scot/why-are-scottish-universities-worried-about-money/#:~:text=Scotland's%2015%20universities%20have%20three,sector%2C%20private%20companies%20and%20charities.

https://ifs.org.uk/publications/scottish-budget-higher-education-spending

@Sweetpeasaremadeforbees I am not an expert in Scottish Higher Educatio funding, but I know they have restricted home student numbers, so that's a factor.

University of Highlands and Islands is also in trouble I believe.

It sounds a bit crazy to me really because surely that means that Scottish students who might want to go to their nearest uni to save on accommodation costs stand less chance of getting a place than a rUK student.

@Sweetpeasaremadeforbees I think that in Scotland they have tighter requirements for WP, so the likely "losers" are middle-class students (albeit they start with an advantage).

But it highlights how there's just not enough money in the system as a whole to meeting the needs of students.

The Times investigation/article on student loan fraud in franchised providers is not going to help matters… zero sympathy for the universities caught up in that scandal but also - how weak is the system that allowed it to happen??

It’s defrauding our children. Sincere students with loans are paying higher rates and for longer to cover this.

Greedy and shameful.

@GinForBreakfast. There would be enough money with fewer students and universities and the least qualified students diverted back into level 4 qualifications - as used to happen! Some “universities” would supply such training and we might all be better served if this happened. Students can avoid the loans and work their way up through qualifications. We need greater flexibility and approaches to learning. It doesn’t have to be full
time at university.

200 jobs and a number of course to be cut at Bournemouth: www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/25044778.bournemouth-university-restructure-job-cuts-course-suspensions/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJVMwhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXoLRJK9yf3Sk2hGYVwktRiy2j_hWjP1z3ekC4EaqvhvYpsqihmg0Yu7hQ_aem_EOtsnm5Fww1wPimP08Evlg

Universities call in consultants to stave off collapse

https://www.thetimes.com/article/17742c11-fcb1-40cf-90a2-0bfc0aa5be6e?shareToken=0e6392c7f72913cd64687b800a2d042e

Bearing in mind these deficits are 2022-23 figures. 2023-24 figures should be out soon….

So rubbish.... Makes me sad and depressed for me, jobwise, and my two almost university age DC, who have big decisions to mske. Also feel furious for all my PhD students who don't stand a chance of a fulfilling career, or at least only a sliver of them will get a research+ job and be compelled to self exploit in the holidays and weekends. What a mess.

The article doesn’t say which universities. I understand that they don’t want to bring about collapse during to a lack of confidence but students and prospective students have a right to know.

It does mention a few, Dundee, Middlesex and Kent. Although pretty much all universities have been in the news recently.

@felissamy This is the lesson of over supply though. We have a university industry that needs to slim down. It’s like the motor industry 60 years ago. It cannot be sustained as it is. I don’t see why your dc won’t have a reasonable choice. It’s hardly going back to less than 20 universities as in 1950!

I disagree. We don't have as many students going to university as other countries. In fact we have fewer (35%) than in other other European countries or Finland (40%), China (60%). This rhetoric is simply to justify cuts

It may depend on how you define "University". For example some areas of the US, as well as Singapore, Germany and other places have a good mix of "two year" and four year" colleges. Many people will gain vocational skills and return when those skills need updating. Many employers will have good relationships with local employers and work with them on courses.

We have 49% of under 25s going to university or participating in HE. Uk Government stats. Therefore it’s important to compare like with like. 36% is 18 year olds. Not all students attend degree awarding colleges here or abroad. Degrees are not the only qualification available. Therefore we compare well and our adult degree holders in the workforce is much higher than China and Finland. Canada is better than us and Australia is identical. What we need to do is understand not all post 18 education has to be a degree.

True but there isn’t enough alternatives. There certainly aren’t enough apprenticeships at degree level. Or even at lower levels for the young people that want one.

@Pinkfluffypencilcase I agree about apprenticeships. As I posted earlier, the majority are taken by existing employees, not 18 year old school leavers. They don’t all need to be degree apprenticeships either but don’t forget many universities barely see an apprentice. They are however HE students if post A level. Working and studying is good for many but dc must decide on a career early. Many find that a challenge.