#Universities are warning that they are heading towards a (renewed) financial crisis, as support from the EU evaporates, costs spiral & questions about how to fund #HigherEducation remained mired in the #culturewars...

What we see in international comparisons is that the UK has (so far) managed to maintain a world class university system on the cheap... but as economists say 'If something cannot go on for ever, it won't! - tie to fund HE properly, not by extracting more money from #students!

@ChrisMayLA6 When #NeoLiberal policies try to make everything into a business including education this is where you end up. Unless and until #education is deemed as a fundamental right and a social responsibility of the #government this state would remain as is. Hence in complete agreement on the #culturewars part of it.
#EducationRIghts
@ChrisMayLA6 Defending Oxbridge would be a start!

@russellt

Hmmm.... of all the #universities in the UK Oxford & Cambridge are almost the least likely to be adversely effected by the current funding regime, whatever they may publicly claim.... its the great world class universities outside Oxbridge that are in trouble alongside the really good 'second tier' universities doing amazing work on 'widening participation' and enhancing the prospects for those not living in rich households

@ChrisMayLA6 But do Universities that have an asset value of almost ยฃ6B between them need any public support?

@russellt

That's a really good question & the answer depends entirely on how you think charity law should structure the maintenance of 'reserves' (usually 2 x annual revenues), how much, if anything students should be asked to pay for their education, and how yo see the social worth of these institutions - all three offer a range of differences, which then feed into the answer to your Q.

my longer discussion can be found here:
https://northwestbylines.co.uk/news/education/who-should-pay-for-students-to-go-to-university/

Who should pay for students to go to university?

Differing views on tuition fees reflect differing conclusions about who captures its benefits; the students, society as a whole or both.

North West Bylines | Powerful Citizen Journalism

@ChrisMayLA6 That's an interesting chart. I wonder where Germany's high number comes from.

Does the number include public-funded research (which then would include the truly massive budget of the large off-campus research institutes that generally don't teach much)? Or is it because universities are free?

Because German academia is not paying its educators, that's for sure: 92% are on temp contracts with a hard, country-wide employment limit of 6 years post-PhD (see #ichbinhanna).

@moritz_negwer

yes, that's an interesting issue; there is no detail on the German spend other than as a comparator country....