Cut down funding, staffing issues, no pay increase to keep up with inflation – it is clear that UK universities are struggling.
The most recent studies have found that nearly one in four major institutions are now seeking to cut the numbers of employees and budgets due to the number of people applying and going to university decreasing, meaning less income from tuition fees for the institutions, as well as rising costs of not only key living necessities but also research and learning materials.
Cardiff University has recently announced its plans to cut funding for resources for its nursing, music and humanities degree programmes, justifying it by stating that they are aiming to prioritise funding more “employable” degrees instead. To this, professionals within the nursing field have responded that this will have a drastic impact on the NHS and social care institutions, with fewer specialists entering the field.
In total, Russell Group universities have reached a combined 1,000 job redundancies as a result of shortfalls in revenue and budget so far and this number will only continue to grow if our government fails to respond to this emergency.
For Exeter students, there have been no plans for cuts announced yet. Only time will tell whether this will remain the case, or if Exeter will join Cardiff and Durham, which announced cuts to staff that aren’t academics to cut down on wage costs.
However, former Conservative Party minister David Willetts, who introduced what we now know as the Student Loans Company, has recently made a statement that university is still a crucial factor in increasing one’s life chances such as social mobility or job prospects and networking connections. To what extent the general public agrees is still debatable, however, at the end of the day, statistics still prove that fewer people are attending university now than even as little as a couple of years ago.
Furthermore, the aftermath of Brexit has proven that there has been an over 40 percent decrease in EU applications and admissions to UK universities since 2021. The implications of this for UK universities meant that less income was derived from international tuition fees, decreasing the revenue made by each institution in order to keep up with the demands of students already admitted.
“The Department of Education claims that [increases in tuition fees] will improve the standard of teaching, research, and the student experience.”
Yet, for UK-based students, Keir Starmer’s Labour government announced in late 2024 that tuition fees per year will be increasing in the academic year 2025-26 from the known £9,250 to £9,535. The Department of Education claims that this will improve the standard of teaching, research, and the student experience. So, if individual universities are still cutting down due to lack of budget, this begs the question: where is students’ money going?
For as long as this keeps going and UK universities continue to fail to attract international students while raising tuition fees for their home students, the problem will only grow and continue. The staff, whose primary source of income is the work they carried out at university institutions through teaching and leading or supervising research are left most affected by the changes, facing immediate redundancies or rapid pay cuts.
“The Labour Party, a party that was previously reputable for taking pride in representing the working class and enabling social mobility seems to be keeping silent until this point.”
The University and College Union describes the ongoing situation as “cruel”, due to the fact that people who did not make these decisions are the ones who are the most affected by them. Calls for the government to act quickly to respond and protect the higher education sector are being made in response. The Labour Party, a party that was previously reputable for taking pride in representing the working class and enabling social mobility seems to be keeping silent until this point.
When asked for comment, Guild President Alex Martin told Exeposé, “It’s been incredibly difficult to see so many staff cuts around the UK, and we know the impact these can have on students in and out of the classroom”. He later added that “The Guild’s role is, and will continue to be, lobbying the government to make change and ensuring Exeter students always have the support and resources they need to succeed.”
University is a challenging time for students, both in terms of academics and socialising. For many, it is the first time they are living away from home, and the changes that come with this are difficult to manage. Acknowledging this significant life stage would be an excellent stepping stone in realising the importance of universities and that cutting funds for the sector will only deteriorate the academic motivations of future young people.
It may be the case that for a large chunk of the UK general public, university is simply no longer worth it. With the increasing cuts to the higher education sector, not only in finances but also in jobs available within the field, it makes sense that the sector is only getting smaller and perhaps more exclusive primarily to those who can afford it.
“[…] for a large chunk of the UK general public, university is simply no longer worth it.”
Until there is a response from the government, the most optimistic option is to note that there have been no dates or time frames announced for the pay cuts or job losses. With an appropriate response, and more importantly, appropriate budget allocations, there may be a way to improve the shocking and disappointing situation.
