Research projects under serious threat as four in five universities consider budget cuts

The number of UK universities considering cuts to research spending has more than doubled in the past year, a study has found.

These findings come in the wake of questions over tuition fees and a reduction in international student numbers caused by government initiatives, which have severely impacted university budgets.

A survey conducted by Universities UK (UUK) has highlighted that degree choices are being significantly reduced by universities.

Nearly half (49%) of universities have closed courses, 46% have removed module options, and 18% have closed departments entirely.

This issue is evident even in Russell Group institutions, with Cardiff recently proposing to close their modern languages school, despite being the largest provider of MFL degrees in Wales. These proposals will leave Cardiff as the only UK capital city to not provide foreign language degrees.

University vice-chancellors have described the financial pressures facing universities as a ‘worsening trend’

These cuts, alongside proposals to close their music, ancient history, and theology schools, comes as Cardiff looks to make budget cuts to stay afloat amid the university funding crisis.

However, it is research spending that looks likely to take the biggest hit across UK universities, in an attempt to regain financial stability. University vice-chancellors have described the financial pressures facing universities as a “worsening trend”.

Four in five British universities are now considering research cuts. From the 60 universities surveyed by UUK, 79% of respondents said they may consider cuts to research and development in the next three years, an increase of 45 percentage points from last year’s findings.

The problem facing universities is not only a problem for the near future either, with 19% of respondents saying they have already taken measures to reduce funding in these areas.

18% of universities have reduced the amount of time allotted to research, while 26% stated they had cut support to staff who wished to apply for research grants.

The Chair of UUK’s Efficiency Taskforce, Nigel Carrington, said that changes to higher education systems in England needed to ‘go further, faster’ to drive efficiency and tackle financial pressures

Vivienne Stern, Chief Executive of UUK, said: “Our universities are something the UK can be genuinely proud. They contribute over a quarter of a trillion pounds to the economy each year.”

She went on to state, however, that “we need governments in all four nations of the UK to do their bit” as universities continue to face these financial problems.

UUK is currently convening to determine ways in which universities’ economic stability can be restored while taking fewer damaging measures.

The Chair of UUK’s Efficiency Taskforce, Nigel Carrington, said that changes to higher education systems in England needed to “go further, faster” to drive efficiency and tackle financial pressures.

The group’s findings are expected to be released in the next few weeks.