The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Howard Newby, has discussed the future of financing universities with the Times Higher Education (THE), ahead of the University’s Global Universities of the 21st Century conference.
He said that universities could anticipate a future where the cap on tuition fees is removed, allowing institutions to charge what they want, provided they subsidise the costs incurred by students from poorer backgrounds.
He said: “The most rational way to deal with the financing of HE is to have fees that have no cap. In return universities have to make adequate provision for looking after students who can’t afford to pay that fee.”
He argued that this approach, which is in line with the recommendations published in the 2010 Browne Review, would mean a sliding scale for tuition fees, where more money is devoted to meeting the cost of HE.
He also discussed the impact of the May European election, stating that it created a certain “mood” that could potentially deter overseas students from applying to UK universities. Referring to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the Vice-Chancellor compared a fall in international applicant numbers to a period of increased ‘Euro-scepticism’.
Global Universities of the 21st Century conference is part of Liverpool’s International Festival for Business and takes place on 24-26 June 2014.
For more information about the event please visit: http://www.liv.ac.uk/ifb2014/
To read the full interview in the THE please visit: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/subsidies-and-uncapped-fees-most-rational-way-to-finance-universities/2014016.article