English Universities in Crisis
Markets without Competition
By Jefferson Frank, Norman Gowar and Michael Naef
Published
Jan 30, 2019Page count
212 pagesISBN
978-1529202250Dimensions
216 x 138 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jan 30, 2019Page count
212 pagesISBN
978-1529202267Dimensions
Imprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jan 30, 2019Page count
212 pagesISBN
978-1529202281Dimensions
Imprint
Bristol University PressDownload chapter 7, 'Adjusting to the Future', free here
Read the policy briefing
In the media
On our blog: 'Why we should have post results university applications'
'Universities in crisis: why a cut in tuition fees and longer loan period would make most students worse off' in The Conversation
'Feast and Famine: Re-balancing funding in HE and FE' in FE News
'Augar missed the chance to put English universities’ WP spending to better use' in Times Higher Education
Recent policies have replaced direct government funding for teaching with fees paid by students. As well as saddling graduates with enormous debt, satisfaction rates are low, a high proportion of graduates are in non-graduate jobs, and public debt from unpaid loans is rocketing.
This timely and challenging analysis combines theoretical and data analysis and insights gained from running a university, to give robust new policy proposals: lower fees; reintroduce maintenance awards; impose student number caps; maintain taxpayer funding; cancel the TEF; re-build the external examiner system; restructure the contingent-repayment loan scheme; and establish different roles for different types of institutions, to encourage excellence and ultimately benefit society.
Jefferson Frank was founding head of the Economics Department at Royal Holloway. Trained as a macroeconomist, Jeff has also extensively investigated the gender pay gap, BME and LGBTQ discrimination, inequality in the university sector, and the current funding and fees crisis. He is the author of The Responsible Economy (Routledge, 2014) and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.
Norman Gowar, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the University of London, is a former Principal of Royal Holloway. He presented the first lecture ever to be broadcast by the Open University. He co-founded the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Student Complaints and was its first Chairman.
Michael Naef is Reader in Economics at Royal Holloway. He works in experimental economics using weird and wonderful substances (testosterone, estrogen, sulpiride) to see what happens. He has published widely, including in Nature and the American Economic Review.
Introduction
How Did We Get Here?
A Short Note On: The Case for Free Tuition and the Scottish Approach
Markets Without Competition
Stakeholders and Expenditures
Expanding Numbers and Maintaining Standards
A Short Note On: Setting up the OIA
Widening Participation and Student Finance
A Short Note On: The Open University
A Short Note On: The Case for Career Colleges: The US Model, by Lincoln E. Frank
Adjusting to the Future