Universities ask for no more sudden policy changes

Universities in Wales have appealed for an end to sudden changes of government policies that have cut their incomes and made it difficult for them to plan.

Appearing before MPs, vice-chancellors said a failure, until recently, to raise student fees for inflation, a rise in employers' National Insurance contributions and visa rule changes reducing the numbers of overseas students had all had an impact.

Restructuring plans, including university-wide voluntary redundancies schemes, have been announced by Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, Cardiff Metropolitan, Swansea, and the University of South Wales.

More limited plans have also been announced by University of Wales: Trinity Saint David.

Earlier on Wednesday, the trade union Unison urged the Welsh government to decide what it wanted from higher education and "properly" fund the sector to fulfil those requirements.

Aberystwyth vice-chancellor Prof Jon Timmis told the Welsh Affairs Committee at Westminster that there was now a need for a "stable policy landscape" that would make it "much easier to plan" for the future.

He said it was essential that domestic university tuition fees, capped at £9,535 from this September, rise with inflation from now on but warned "that is not a long term solution".

He made the same point as Unison, echoed by many of the other vice-chancellors, while also addressing his message to ministers in London.

"UK government really need to look at what is a fit for purpose mechanism for higher education," he said.

"That needs to take into account what UK government and devolved nations want from their higher education systems and what they are prepared to pay for it."

Prof Edmund Burke said Bangor University had "no choice" but to make £15m savings to "ensure the financial stability of the institution".

A consultation process had closed, after more than a thousand responses, he told the committee, and the university's executive board would meet on Thursday to "start to make decisions" on restructuring.

"We will do all that we can to avoid compulsory redundancies, if that is possible," he said.

"We will be as creative as possible, we are listening to what our colleagues are saying through the consultation.

"But we have to make those savings of £15m that we announced."

Prof Burke also warned MPs that universities "couldn't go another decade" without student fees rising in line with inflation and institutions should work with the UK and Welsh governments to "determine a sustainable financial footing" for higher education.

Cardiff University's vice-chancellor Prof Wendy Larner said the sector was having to "reinvent itself" and would have to find "new revenue streams".

She said she recognised that "governments are challenged" financially but that she was optimistic about the future of the university sector.

"That question about what the new operating model looks like that will serve universities well for the next few decades, I think that's what we are currently working on," she said.

The head of the body which funds and regulates universities in Wales warned last month that they face "massive" financial challenges but said that none were at risk of going bust in the next year.

Medr chief executive Simon Pirotte said the eight institutions reached a total deficit of £77m for 2023-24, compared to a £21m surplus the previous year.

Earlier on Wednesday, higher education unions told members of a Senedd committee that some universities had responded to the financial challenges facing the sector better than others.

The University and College Union's Gareth Lloyd was critical of Cardiff University when asked about the vice-chancellor's defence of its approach in evidence to a previous committee meeting.

"I don't accept that Cardiff did the right thing," he told the Welsh Parliament's education committee.

"The danger is if we're not careful is this could have a really detrimental effect on students who [now] don't want to go there and that really really worries me," he added.

Unison official Dan Beard claimed senior leaders in other universities were "aghast" at the way Cardiff had handled its proposals to cut jobs and courses.

However Jamie Insole, from the UCU, said Wrexham University was "in a firm situation" and Aberystwyth University has displayed "how a university can weather a financial storm" by working closely with staff.

Later Deio Owen, NUS Cymru president, told the committee: "There has been an impact on students and learners mental wellbeing due to proposed cut and the confirmed cuts that we've heard in the past few months."

"That uncertainty does have a knock on effect," he added.

"You're paying for a service which you're not sure you're going to get."

In a paper for the education committee, Unison warned Senedd members that hundreds of expected job losses at universities across Wales would have a "catastrophic effect on staff, institutions, students, communities and the Welsh economy".

In the document the union urged the Welsh government to decide what it wanted from higher education and "properly" fund the sector to fulfil those requirements.

Welsh ministers "must produce a detailed industrial strategy which outlines the skills and number of graduates Wales requires for the future across a range of jobs and ensure universities have the capacity to train these young people", Unison said.