UK universities warn of cuts for impoverished students if dire funding issues continue

Vice-chancellors have said they may need to cut hardship support for impoverished students and reduce outreach activities aimed at disadvantaged groups if the dire funding struggles at universities continue. The anonymous poll of leaders by Universities UK (UUK) revealed the extent of the budgetary quagmire facing higher education, with more than two-thirds prepared to cut staff jobs by compulsory redundancy if difficulties continue over the next three years, while nearly 90% said they were looking at hiring freezes or voluntary redundancies. Vivienne Stern, UUK’s chief executive, said: “If we want to retain world-class universities that deliver for students, employers and the economy, a serious conversation is needed about how degrees are funded and whether the governments’ share matches the value universities deliver for society.” But the suggestion of further cuts in support for students, at a time when record numbers are living at home and working part-time to cope with rising prices, could make higher education inaccessible for those who most need it, experts said. Nearly a third of vice-chancellors said they would cut hardship funding for current students if necessary, while more than half said they were prepared to cut access and outreach activity, aimed at encouraging students to go to university, over the next three years. …