GoKawiilThe United Kingdom’s universities are under pressure from almost every direction. Four in ten higher-education (HE) institutions are forecast to be in a deficit this financial year, as they grapple with monetary pressures, changing student uptake and reduced funding. This week, more than 518,000 students are due to arrive at the country’s universities, and around 300,000 of the new intake are 18 years old. They enter a creaking system. For some leaders and analysts in the sector, the financial model of universities is unsustainable; for others, the current turmoil is a difficult transition towards a different, but still ambitious, future.
Nature asked eight HE leaders and consultants to take stock of the state of the sector, and where they think it is heading. Their responses reveal stark differences in opinion on whether degrees still deliver value to students and if there are crises surrounding funding or the university model. But they do find common ground: agreeing that the current system is financially unsustainable, and that universities are unprepared for the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence.
Participants
Diana Beech is director of the Finsbury Institute and assistant vice-president for policy and government affairs at City St George’s, University of London. A former chief executive of London Higher — an organization that represents HE institutes — she has also advised three UK government ministers for universities and science.
Judith Squires is deputy vice-chancellor and provost at the University of Bristol, UK, where she previously served as pro vice-chancellor for education and students.
Ken Sloan is vice-chancellor and chief executive at Harper Adams University in Edgmond, UK, and chair of GuildHE, a representative body of UK HE. He previously held senior leadership positions at the University of Warwick, UK, and at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Damien Page is vice-chancellor and chief executive of Buckinghamshire New University in High Wycombe, UK. His career spans further and higher education, including senior roles at the UK universities of Greenwich, Leeds Beckett and Wolverhampton.
Shân Wareing is vice-chancellor at Middlesex University in London and a National Teaching Fellow. She was previously deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Northampton, UK, and has held executive roles at London South Bank University and Buckinghamshire New University.
Tom Richmond is an education-policy analyst and former director of the UK education think tank EDSK. A former secondary teacher and government adviser, he has worked across education, skills and welfare policy.
Alex Usher is president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, a consultancy based in Toronto, Canada. An internationally recognized HE analyst, he specializes in student finance, access, institutional strategy, rankings and quality measurement.
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