Facing up to today's challenges: building for tomorrow

Professor Anton Muscatelli, Convener, Universities Scotland

Total spending & revenues

Any material on UK deficit etc....

Total spending & revenues

• Any material on UK deficit etc....

Departmental spending

• Any material on UK deficit etc....

Less than 50% from the public purse BUT - needed

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

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100%

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Other income

Core public funding

HE funding in Scotland: the impact of 5 per cent cut in 2011/12

Chief Economic Adviser, Dr Andrew Goudie’s medium to long term outlook for public

expenditure in Scotland

The challenges facing Scotland’s universities

1. Funding: in the long-term

2. Funding: in the short-term

Submissions to the Browne Review: more fees please

Group Position

Russell Group Fee cap should be removed incrementally

1994 Group Fee cap should be raised in stages

University Alliance Universities to decide ‘graduate contributions’ for different courses with a ceiling set by Government

Universities UK Graduate contribution should increase over time to a maximum level

Guild HE Against an entirely uncapped system but in favour of higher fees

Million + Bursaries removed and replaced with lower fees

UCU Abolish tuition fees & charge business and education tax

NUS vote for students pledge

1,000 candidates for the UK election signed the pledge.

Signatories included:

Nick Clegg (Lib Dem)Vince Cable (Lib Dem)Phil Woolas (Lab) Tony McNulty (Lab) Roberta Blackman-Woods (Lab)David Lammy (Lab)Cathy Jamieson (Lab) Steve McCabe (Lab), Janet Anderson (Lab), Andrew Smith (LabAlan Whitehead (Lab), Caroline Lucas (Green)............

The coalition: Our Programme for Government

If the response of the Government to Lord

Browne’s report is one that Liberal Democrats

cannot accept, then arrangements will be

made to enable Liberal Democrat MPs to

abstain in any vote.

UNIVERSITIES & FURTHER EDUCATION:

Scottish Government position on future funding

"I want to hear the views of the students, student leaders, university principals, unions and the entire stakeholder community about what we might do in Scotland to provide a long-term and sustainable funding solution - a uniquely Scottish solution - to funding universities in the future.

"But this government does not believe that the answer to those questions is tuition fees."

Mike Russell, NUS Scotland conference, 6 March 2010

Scotland’s Independent Budget Review panel

•Sir Crawford Beveridge

•Sir Neil McIntosh

•Robert Wilson

Scotland’s Independent Budget Review

The terms of reference agreed for the IBR has made a

distinction between:

“public goods and services that are provided on a

universal basis and those which are not.”

Key aspects to the Independent Budget Review

• We are a producer of economic value

• We make a major contribution to Scotland’s international standing

• Our research strengths attract inward investment in Scotland

• Our teaching and continuing professional development is Scotland’s main route through which we up-skill and re-skill

• Scotland’s universities and FE sector have a strong record in

securing the efficient use of resources

• There’s a limit to the amount of income we can generate from fundraising and international sources

Preparation for the Spending Review

Four main elements

1) an independent assessment of the sector’s economic contribution to Scotland

2) universities’ role as Scotland’s 7th sector

3) a people-centred approach

4) ‘ big’, innovative thinking

Preparation for the Spending Review

Four main elements

1) an independent assessment of the sector’s economic contribution to Scotland

2) universities’ role as Scotland’s 7th sector

3) a people-centred approach

4) ‘ big’, innovative thinking

Yes! We can!

“Never waste a good crisis”

Example one: The Saltire Centre atGlasgow Caledonian University

Example two: SHEDL

Example three: Shared HE-FE library at the Scottish Borders Campus

Thank you