University funding fears over controversial Westminster proposals
SCOTTISH universities could face a funding shortfall under controversial proposals from Westminster.
The threat comes after the UK government announced plans to change the way teaching quality at universities in England and Wales is assessed.
Under its Green Paper, universities judged to be amongst the best will be allowed to increase tuition fees in line with inflation.
That means universities such as Edinburgh, St Andrews and Glasgow could fall behind in the fees they charge to students from the rest of the UK (rUK), which are currently capped at £9,000.
Student body NUS Scotland said Scottish universities could either face a funding gap or increase fees for rUK students.
Rob Henthorn, vice-president of NUS Scotland, said: “We’ve created a higher education system that rejects the marketisation seen elsewhere in the UK with a broad consensus against the introduction of tuition fees. However, we are particularly concerned that the introduction of these measures will lead to higher fees in England, potentially triggering a race to the top for rUK fees in Scotland.
“These students already pay up to £9,000 a year over four years and we hope Scottish universities and the wider sector will join us in rejecting the premise of the Green Paper and what it stands for.”
The Royal Society of Edinburgh also issued a warning over Westminster’s proposed Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).
The society said: “Student recruitment from the rest of the UK and internationally is vital to Scottish institutions, and should TEF become widely cited it may damage the position of institutions to be outside this framework.
“It is inevitable that metrics used in TEF will be aggregated into league tables accessible to prospective students. Irrespective of whether Scottish universities are a part of TEF they are likely to be included in such tables by default. This could be damaging.
“As English universities will be required to pay towards TEF it appears likely Scottish universities would be expected to do likewise.
“However, due to the differences between Scotland and England regarding who is required to pay tuition fees, the potential increase in such fees for Scottish universities would be applicable only to a minority of students, but this is a large minority in some Scottish institutions.”