Events | 2009.08.26
The clearing crunch | Wendy Piatt
Underfunding denies too many a university place – and hinders British hopes of escaping recession
Today sees universities at the centre of a perfect storm – a huge (and welcome) increase in applications coupled with tighter restrictions on places. For unfortunate A-level students who miss out on their grades and go into clearing in search of vacant places, these days are tough. A generation that has to cope with the credit crunch now faces the clearing crunch.
Of course our university admissions staff sympathise and have been specifically trained to treat disappointed students sensitively and constructively. But at least this week\'s scramble for places has exploded one persistent myth: that introducing tuition fees would put students off higher education. Despite all the scaremongering on debt, demand has never been greater – and the big question for the government, whoever wins the election expected next year, is how to cater for that surge in demand and produce the future graduates the country will need to emerge from recession.
In the face of fierce international competition Russell Group universities also have an essential role to play in producing the ideas and research that will form the basis of the new knowledge economy. Funding them properly, however, is going to be a problem for any government in the current state of the public finances.
Teaching budgets in universities were already under pressure before the recession. Any moves to increase the numbers of home students without any additional funding would inevitably lead to a sacrifice in the quality of the student experience. That was why Russell Group institutions were reluctant to take on extra unfunded places offered by the government at the last minute, and will be admitting very small additional numbers or, in most cases, none at all.
Young people – and the not so young – realise that a degree is a good investment of their time and money, even in a recession. No one can predict the future of the jobs market exactly, but it is a fair bet that the thinking and problem-solving skills and adaptability nurtured at good universities will be in demand. But where is the money to teach rising numbers of students to come from and ensure they continue to receive a first-rate experience in the future?
The Russell Group has been investigating a wide range of options to solve the funding crisis and to ensure that financial burden is spread fairly. The state, employers and graduates benefit hugely from research-intensive universities. But at the moment the taxpayer still foots the lion\'s share of the bill. An increase in fees is often proposed as one of the most effective solutions. We want to be sure that it is also the fairest. Even before this week all the evidence demonstrated that the introduction of variable fees in 2006 has not deterred students from progressing to higher education. Applications to English universities from students of all social backgrounds have rocketed. This is not surprising, because educational under-achievement – not finance – is the key reason for a lower proportion of working class students in higher education.
Unless we grasp the nettle and answer some tough questions about who is going to make a bigger contribution to the costs of maintaining world-class universities, this week\'s scenes will be repeated in future years. Many students capable of benefiting from higher education – and contributing to the UK economy and society as graduates – will miss out on the chance of a degree. The sad fact is that it is young people from low-income families who are most at risk of being squeezed out by increased pressure on university places. Now more than ever, we need to build a workforce with high level skills to drag the UK economy out of recession. In fact most people simply cannot afford not to go to university in the current conditions.
We understand that there are competing claims on the limited pot of money in the Treasury – particularly given the present state of the public finances. But there is a price to pay for this level of underfunding. It will mean fewer people can benefit from a university education, the quality of their experience will be increasingly difficult to maintain, and today\'s clearing crunch will become an annual event.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/[...]iversity-funding-credit-crunch
