World news | The GuardianOffice for Students faces judicial review over public funding for bible colleges https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/mar/15/office-for-students-judicial-review-public-funding-bible-colleges #OfficeForStudents #HigherEducation #Students #StudentFinance #UniversityFunding #Religion #Education #UkNews #Christianity #England
Vice-chancellor calls for review into student loans for those without A-levels https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/mar/06/university-vice-chancellor-review-student-loan-a-levels-education #HigherEducation #UniversityFunding #StudentFinance #UniversityOfBirmingham #Students #Admissions #Universities #Education #UkNews
Environment | The Guardian US‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/04/essex-university-southend-campus-closure-seaside-deprivation #England #UkNews #Students #UniversityFunding #Education #HigherEducation #SocialExclusion #Society #YoungPeople #CommitmentToWideningParticipation #Cities #SocialMobility
‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university?
When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degrees
David PIt's no coincidence that, by and large most sources of protest and dissidence around the world have been university humanities faculties AND that governments have attacked and made substantial funding cuts to said faculties. This is part of a wholesale attempt to suppress protest and govt accountability.
Just a few years ago here in Australia, our right-wing federal government doubled the cost of arts degrees (for local students).
This assumption that the humanities only teaches critical thinking is reductive and seems strategically designed to hollow out institutions essential to a free and functioning democracy.
Joshua ChalifourPetition: Restauration et protection de la mission universitaire au Québec - https://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/exprimez-votre-opinion/petition/Petition-11733/index.html
Rallumons le phare (Bluesky) : Sans un financement public adéquat, nos universités cessent d’être un levier collectif pour devenir celui des plus fortuné·es. https://sauvonsnosuniversites.ca/financement-des-universites/
Universities need public funding to serve the collective good! https://sauvonsnosuniversites.ca/en/university-funding/
#Rallumerlephare #Financementdesuniversités #RelightTheBeacon #UniversityFunding
HGourlayUCLArticle points out that funding for universities will be given with one hand and taken away with the other. For me, politicians have not grasped what needs to be done in higher education. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/22/the-guardian-view-on-campus-discontent-listen-to-those-on-the-frontline #UniversityFunding #ukpolitics
Eric Darnley SmallDespite White House pressure, six of nine top universities—including Arizona and Vanderbilt—have rejected Trump’s offer of preferential funding in exchange for adopting new ideological policies. Both schools emphasized their commitment to academic freedom, merit-based research, and institutional independence, even as they acknowledged the need for broader reform. While leaders say they’re open to future dialogue, most universities argue the proposed deal threatens the integrity of higher education funding. Will this standoff reshape campus politics and federal influence? Learn more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/10/20/trump-administration-college-compact/ #HigherEd #AcademicFreedom #Trump #UniversityFunding #MeritBased #Research #Policy
quackademicIt’s the funding model, folks.
Under corporatised governance, vice-chancellors are paid millions to meet KPIs. This is how they do it.
Another pernicious legacy of neoliberal ideology, coming to fruition.
Whose interests are served when universities are unable to offer courses that teach critical thinking? Or conduct research that looks for things we don’t know already?
Those who benefit from ongoing plunder & exploitation, whose hegemony is threatened by democratic processes deployed by voters with the ability to act in their own interests, not those of their masters.
We don’t need to look far to see where this takes us as a society.
#NeoLiberalism #FarRight #WhitePatriarchalSupremacy #Colonialism
#UniversityFunding #AusPol #FollowTheMoney
BakersRelay#UniversityFunding #TheGremlinZoo #UCLA
From AP News: Trump administration freezes $339M in UCLA grants and accuses the school of rights violations
https://apnews.com/article/trump-ucla-research-grants-civil-rights-60d9d370ac7a1fb648752e06d4f655c3
Trump administration freezes $339M in UCLA grants and accuses the school of rights violations
The Trump administration is freezing $339 million in research grants to the University of California, Los Angeles, accusing the school of civil rights violations related to antisemitism, affirmative action and women’s sports. The federal government has frozen or paused federal funding over similar allegations against private colleges but this is one of the rare cases it has targeted a public university. Several federal agencies notified UCLA this week that they were suspending grants over civil rights concerns. UCLA’s chancellor called the government's decision a far-reaching penalty that would defund life-saving research.
Yet another example of ‘it’s the funding model, kids’.
Wherever there are uncapped government #subsidies to private businesses the opportunities for profit are huge. Industries shape themselves around maximising throughput / turnover & profit.
Where universities are not funded adequately to perform their functions of offering education & research, the role of highly paid executives is to implement systems that bring in maximum income - often by rorting uncapped programs & screwing the people those programs are meant to serve - in order to create funding streams to keep basic services afloat. Staff are screwed. Students are screwed. Vice Chancellors & aspiring leaders are paid astronomical sums to abandon their ethics.
Add to this a visa system that invites those who can pay to take endless courses as a path to permanent residence & we have a perfect storm.
This is a failure of governance.
We see you #AusPol #UniversityFunding #StudentVisas #exploitation #profit #ItsTheFundingModel
