New university rankings reveal cuts are damaging UK's global standing

The new figures suggest funding cuts in the UK and other Western nations have left the East reaping the benefits of sustained investment in higher education.
 
UCU said it was particularly concerned that restrictions on visas for foreign students and damaging headlines from the London Metropolitan University affair will further harm the UK's reputation.
 
The Times Higher Education Magazine World University Rankings show that 19 of the UK's 31 universities in the global top 200 dropped down the table and the University of Dundee fell out of the leading group altogether.
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'It is evident from the latest rankings that investment pays off. The UK and other Western nations have seen their reputations slide as they cut funding and the East invests in higher education. To succeed in the future requires investment in high-level skills now and we cannot afford to slip further behind.
 
'We are particularly concerned that, as we struggle to keep pace with our global competitors, the government continues to pursue policies that can only further harm our standing on the world stage.
 
"We need to send out a positive image of the UK, not create headlines about students being deported, struggling to get past visa controls or queuing for hours in the dark and rain to register with the police.'*

* More on the students forced to queue in the rain, including video footage.