100% funding cuts to UK arts courses...

[Quodlibet]

This horrifically depressing story today: Coalition funding cuts will remove 100% of public funding from many flagship UK arts institutions including Laban, Royal College of Music, Goldsmiths, Guildhall, SOAS, Central...a very long list.

This essentially is going to mean that not only is the future of our creative industries being drastically undermined, but that studying for a creative career is going to become even more difficult (or impossible) for those from low-income families.

Open University is going to be the biggest loser in cash terms - meaning many of those studying from home/part time/while raising children will also lose out.

Short-sighted, destructive and incredibly depressing.

Even truly creative people have to have resources (art schools, music schools, materials, instruments, time to learn and practice).

Looks like you are only going to get all that if you are wealthy.

The point is Biscuitscoco, the Government will want to rely on peoples' determination and drive to carry on nonetheless. I didn't say it was fair.

It is much tougher for arts people here than in any other developed country alreadt jonicomelately. now it is going to be almost impossible.

I know that. I'm in the arts POFAKKEDDthechair.

The point is jonicomelately that determination and drive is not enough if you don't have anything else!

Jesus. I know that Biscuitcoco. I'm saying the Government are exploiting people's love of the arts. They think they'll carry on regardless.

wasn't attacking you joni. just agreeing that determination and drive relied upon by people not in the arts, but it is impossible to generate a healthy arts culture based on that alone, and impossible for those without moneyed backgrounds to even start off.

Don't think we disagreeing actually.

"The govenment know that truly creative people will always try to find a way to persue their art."

Yep - they'll go overseas, and probably stay there too.

Vienna Conservatoire - Tution fees for one semester EUR220.......

But it's not just the creative industries - it's any non-science/engineering subject. So History, English, Philosophy, Economics - all the fucking Oxford PPErs in the Govt are well and truly pulling up the drawbridge behind them.

Bloody hell, have they have really taken the chop like this? Utter utter total madness. Some of those institutions are excellent! We will feel the loss for generations.

Has this actually been announced or is this just what Labour think will happen.

Dh who works in several institutions which are not on that list but surely must be affected being leading perf arts colleges thinks this is the case.

What has Jesus to do with it?

but people who love the arts won't necessarily keep on with it. People with the means to do so will keep on with it despite zero funding, but everyone else will have to give up and do something 'useful' (as defined by the government).

It says in the article that "...institutions that offer only courses relating to arts will receive no money".

But does that mean that if they aren't on the article's list, then they haven't lost 100% of their public funding, even if the they are solely arts institutions?

Or is the list not exhaustive?

This is what the article says: "A spokesman for the Department for Business said the figures, produced by the House of Commons library, were inaccurate, adding: ?We cannot verify the figures - the information is incorrect.?

He said the figures failed to include tuition fees already being paid by students".

I think the expectation is that the £9000 fee will cover the cost of Arts and Humanities courses - it won't, of course - and rather puts paid to any notion of competitive "pricing" in fee terms; with no other income I don't see how universities who want to run A&H courses can charge anything but the full £9000.

goldsmiths is loosing all it's funding. when i went to uni (i did textiles) goldsmiths was one of the places to go.

Let's hope Labour are over-egging the pudding on this one. I'll be watching closely to see the Government's response

holy fuck - who voted these losers in? [looks around accusingly]

I think Jesus has quite a lot to do with it, judging by the BA (Hons) I got following my Reloigious Studies and Philosophy degree .....

Some children will go abroad but the ones that cannot will perhaps be the most vulnerable ones for whom the ability to follow a pathway will have the biggest life changing effects. DS1 is a talented artist, wants to be a jewellery designer, but as someone with Asperger's would not ever be able to just go abroad (foir a start with his level of care, only teh EU would accept him anyway) or work long hours alongside his study.

He'd not pass the ESA tests to claim either.

Let's hope he remains small, maybe he can sweep some chimneys eh?

how depressing :(

my friend's daughter has just gone over to the states to study think she made a wise choice

see what's happened to the Arts Council, budget cut by 28% but 75% of thier budget is given in grants which they are not allowed to reduce

their position has been made totally untenable

haven't heard much about it in the press, guess the arts are seen as quite niche

As I understand it the listed institutions are looking at losing 100%. Other institutions are losing a proportion, whether that's 95% or 5%. Critically, what this shows is that the government are penalising arts and humanities courses more than science, engineering etc. It's essentially social engineering. Really really short-sighted given that the UK's arts are world-leading and a massive draw for tourism too.

A great article here about why it's a massively massively flawed plan to allow our universities to essentially be run as commercial institutions according to consumer demand (which in reality means the demands of 18 year olds, who may not have the most far-reaching of perspectives)

honestly what will be have left? a bunch of fucking bankers and everyone else in penury.

The plan is for an 80% cut in the teaching grant that universities get, but not evenly distributed. The arts, humanities and social sciences are to get a 100% cut, and the money is to go to the sciences, engineering, medicine and the like. There will still be public money available to fund research in all disciplines, but not teaching.

Many universities are discussing culling certain courses because they have to be 'cross-subsidised' by other courses. For example, it costs more to run a degree in media production (because there are practical classes and materials and you can't support very large class sizes) than it does to run a course in media studies (where the classes are all lectures and seminars and larger class sizes can be supported). Currently, there is likely to be cross-subsidisation so that media production gets more money. With less money, universities are likely to look at culling courses that don't break even in favour of those that do (or which make a profit).

Indeed, it might be quite difficult to justify any cross-subsidisation when students are paying the whole costs of their degree themselves. If a degree is a personal investment rather than a public good (as the government are trying to tell us) then the money people pay should go entirely on their own education.

Disclaimer: I do not agree with the logic of personal investment and privitisation.

It will also impact so heavily on other areas-

dh's degree is in theatre lighting and design; now, he already ahs a retail business in the field (he's in year 2) but a great many of his fellow students expect to enter the arts field. They are all doing a respected BSc though, at a specialist centre for technology, and the course is a key investment-finder for the other technology courses. Many of the shared facillities and equipment were sponsored by theatre technology copmpanies, for example.
Facillities they all use such as the physics lab (lighting technology having a far bigger physics aspect than many of the more arty students bargained for!).

Sad times.