UK universities funding crisis

[bob sterman]

In the UK - the sector is in a mess - many institutions are in deep financial holes...

English universities face autumn ‘tipping point’ as financial crisis looms
https://www.theguardian.com/education/a ... isis-looms

If this goes ahead...

Budget could include rise in employers’ national insurance, minister suggests
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... lds-labour

...this could tip many over the edge. Salaries are such a major part of an institutions costs.

[Woodchopper]

When an industry is in a financial crisis and its too important to fail, then a common way out is to nationalize it.

Maybe university lecturers need to become state employees, as are school teachers. Its common across Europe for lecturers to be civil servants, eg in France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden and Finland. Of course they'll lose some independence, but they'll gain some job security.

[shpalman]

When an industry is in a financial crisis and its too important to fail, then a common way out is to nationalize it.

Maybe university lecturers need to become state employees, as are school teachers. Its common across Europe for lecturers to be civil servants, eg in France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden and Finland. Of course they'll lose some independence, but they'll gain some job security.

... and Italy.

[dyqik]

When an industry is in a financial crisis and its too important to fail, then a common way out is to nationalize it.

Maybe university lecturers need to become state employees, as are school teachers. Its common across Europe for lecturers to be civil servants, eg in France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden and Finland. Of course they'll lose some independence, but they'll gain some job security.

UK academics are employees of their universities. They don't actually have much independence in law, anyway. Nationalization may give them a little more, in that there's likely to be uniform regulation of their rights to pursue research as a sweetener for it. It's not like the US, where tenure exists.

[bob sterman]

When an industry is in a financial crisis and its too important to fail, then a common way out is to nationalize it.

Maybe university lecturers need to become state employees, as are school teachers. Its common across Europe for lecturers to be civil servants, eg in France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Sweden and Finland. Of course they'll lose some independence, but they'll gain some job security.

UK academics are employees of their universities. They don't actually have much independence in law, anyway. Nationalization may give them a little more, in that there's likely to be uniform regulation of their rights to pursue research as a sweetener for it. It's not like the US, where tenure exists.

Yes - and universities are sort of partially nationalised anyway. Tuition fee income for home students comes from the government (students repay this later) and it comes with all sorts of strings attached. E.g. following whims of OfS.

[bolo]

I'm missing the step where nationalization of UK universities would improve their financial situation? Do you think nationalization would mean that the government would give them more money, pay their employees less, remove the cap on tuition?

When a normal industry is nationalized, the need to generate profits for shareholders goes away, and outstanding debts are assumed by the government. I doubt either of those is relevant here, though I admit to not knowing much about the finances of UK universities.

[dyqik]

I'm missing the step where nationalization of UK universities would improve their financial situation? Do you think nationalization would mean that the government would give them more money, pay their employees less, remove the cap on tuition?

When a normal industry is nationalized, the need to generate profits for shareholders goes away, and outstanding debts are assumed by the government. I doubt either of those is relevant here, though I admit to not knowing much about the finances of UK universities.

There's certainly some maintenance of endowments and property portfolios that goes on, but that pays for itself.

[bob sterman]

It's looking more certain...

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... nce-budget

Not sure they've thought this through very well. If you raise employee NI contributions you bring in more revenue - but across the public sector, not just universities, if you raise employer NI contributions you don't raise more revenue because you have to spend it on err .... higher employer NI contributions.

[nekomatic]

Maybe university lecturers need to become state employees, as are school teachers.

Just an aside but if we're talking about the UK, school teachers are increasingly employees of individual academies or multi-academy trusts, rather than of local authorities.

[bob sterman]

Maybe university lecturers need to become state employees, as are school teachers.

Just an aside but if we're talking about the UK, school teachers are increasingly employees of individual academies or multi-academy trusts, rather than of local authorities.

And some universities have come up with a neat trick - instead of having academic staff as employees of the university, they set up a spin-off private educational services company. Academic staff are employees of this company - and the university has a contract with the private company to provide teaching services.