Funding cuts threat to unis

AUSTRALIAN universities face an “uphill struggle” as funding cuts take hold, a group that ranks the world’s universities has warned.

Nine Australian universities made the latest Times Higher Education world university rankings, with the University of Melbourne the highest at No.32.

But global rankings editor Ellie Bothwell said six of the nine that made the top 200 had slipped since last year.

“You can’t sustain worldclass universities and research facilities with funding cuts,” she said.