It was alleged that university administrators would spend billions of pounds on “wasteful vanity projects” rather than raising the quality of instruction on courses.
According to the University and College Union, institutions want to raise capital spending by 36% this year to a “eye-watering” £4.6 billion.
According to the statement, “most” of this money would go into initiatives that “do not benefit students and employees.”
Vice-chancellors urged for increased tuition prices yesterday, despite the fact that the typical student graduates with £46,000 in debt.
They want students to pay thousands more year but yet anticipate tuition to be far lower than the average of £24,000 paid by international students. One academic estimated the cost as £12,000.
The £9,250 that UK students pay, which has been fixed for ten years, has forced employers to accept a growing number of overseas applications from nations like China and India.
You cannot expect to run universities on a fee level of £9,250 per year, which by 2025 will be worth about £6,000 in real terms due to inflation, according to Sir David Bell, vice chancellor at the University of Sunderland and a former permanent secretary at the Department for Education, who was quoted in the Sunday Times.
Glasgow Caledonian is included as one among the organisations that have reportedly started engaging in reckless expenditure in the UCU report, which was issued today.
Only 77 of the 129 students enrolled in degree programmes at the university’s New York satellite have received their diplomas since it was established almost eight years ago, the Daily Record reported in February.
The campus received loans from the university totaling £21.4 million. Reading University, however, substantially reduced the size of its Malaysia campus in 2019 and shut down several courses, according to UCU, in an effort to make it a “sustainable business” after multi-million dollar losses.
According to Times Higher Education, accounts revealed a £27 million charge for building up and running the campus that dates back to 2011, putting the institution’s overall financial situation in the deficit by £20 million.
The UCU has demanded that a part of capital spending be “diverted” in order to increase salaries, give employees permanent contracts, and reinstate pension benefits.
Students, according to general secretary Jo Grady, prefer “large new glittering structures” over “precious time with professionals and investment in mental wellness services.”
“We will call action,” she said, “if colleges continue to use their personnel as shock absorbers to vanity and costly construction projects.”
The union and universities are embroiled in a contentious dispute over wages and pensions, and campus-wide strikes may occur in November.
“After the reorganisation of the Malaysia campus, it is currently in a considerably better financial situation,” the University of Reading said.
According to Glasgow Caledonian University, “a growth in the number of students being recruited, and graduating, in the months and years ahead” will be seen on its US campus.