22 May 2013 
Karel Thomas, Executive Director
Universities UK has published its submission to the government’s 2013 Spending Round. UUK has suggested actions the government must take to ensure the viability and effectiveness of UK higher education. It also details what universities have been doing and plan to do to operate even more efficiently. Making a compelling case for universities’ positive economic impact, the report says “Universities are engines of economic growth. This is truer now than it ever has been, as the future competitiveness of the UK depends on its ability to operate effectively in the global knowledge economy”. The Spending Review decisions will be announced on 26th June.
We are not alone in our concern that austerity cuts could be counterproductive and Paul Davidson writing in the Financial Post asks “Canada’s universities have been doing more with less… but can they keep doing so?” He goes on to say, “While universities have opened their doors wider, ensuring greater opportunities for more people, per student funding has dropped to a historic low. Clearly, universities are doing so much more today with a lot less.” Reflecting on spend per student is something Finance Directors do regularly and they are sometimes frustrated by league tables that fete institutions that have “high spend per student”, as the true context is not always revealed by the figures. If you are a finance director who would like to put some words round the figures, or even improve the figures, please get in touch.
