Funding increases should stop redundancies

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) allocations for 2007/08 (available below) give real terms increases in all institutions. 

Of the institutions who have recently announced redundancy proposals, Dundee University has received a cash increase of 8% and Strathclyde 5.7%. Stirling University, which recently announced cuts in projects, has received a 6% increase.

There are fluctuations in the allocations, which is partly due to a doubling of the widening access grant which has been renamed the widening access retention premium. This mainly benefits institutions that recruit students from areas with a traditionally low participation in higher education. Universities who have a strategy of recruiting these students have been rewarded for the work they have done in this area.

The SFC will from next year lift the threshold for over recruitment from 3% to 10% before institutions are penalised, essentially removing the cap on student numbers. The institutions which breach their indicative student numbers by over recruiting tend to be the ancient universities.

Alastair Hunter, president of UCU Scotland said: 'The funding announced today is a real terms increase everywhere. So we question the need for redundancies particularly in view of the increase given to institutions that are threatening job cuts. There is certainly no need for compulsory redundancies.

'While we welcome the removal of penalties for over recruiting we are concerned this could lead to another growth in unfunded student numbers and a growth in numbers for the prestigious universities could occur at the expense of others.'

The table below shows the total resources for institutions and comparisons with last year's grants. It includes all formula-based grants and the allocation for capital of £60million, where stated, so that the final two columns give the overall increases in all formula funding.