Responding to the Scottish Government’s settlement for university resource and capital budgets for 2025/26, Claire McPherson, Director of Universities Scotland has said: “The Scottish Government has responded to the sector’s request to re-direct £14million of existing spend, from covid-era student places, to increase the amount which can be spent on each student place. We welcome…
News
November
20
2024
Universities revise budget bid to Scottish Government upwards as there is no scope to absorb increased costs
We have taken the unprecedented step of increasing our 2025/26 budget ask of the Scottish Government. Since we submitted this in September, there have been two significant changes in our funding environment. Firstly, the announcement in the UK Government’s autumn budget that there would be an increase in employer National Insurance Contributions (ENIC) 2025/26. We have…
November
06
2024
Academic year 2025/26: an increase in tuition fees and maintenance loans in England
On Monday 4 November, the Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson announced that tuition fees in England would increase by 3.1% from £9,250 to £9,535 in academic year 2025/26 and there will be an increase in maintenance loans, in line with inflation. Responding to this announcement, a spokesperson from Universities Scotland has said; “England…
November
04
2024
Scotland’s universities still have another budget to contend with
With the UK Government’s budget now delivered, November sees a frenzied month of activity for the Scottish Government as it crunches numbers ahead of its own budget for 2025/26, to be announced on 4 December, writes Universities Scotland Director Claire McPherson. Spare a thought for Scotland’s universities, facing the prospect of all that pre-budget speculation…
September
26
2024
Our 40 Faces campaign & reaffirming our commitment to widening access
This week, the Cabinet Secretary for Education Jenny Gilruth, the Commissioner for Fair Access and representatives from across higher education came together at a special event to celebrate Universities Scotland’s “40 Faces” campaign. Universities Scotland’s Senior Public Affairs and Communications Officer Lauren Wards explains why progress towards Scotland’s ambitious widening access target cannot be made…
September
12
2024
Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review method: QAA consultation
Universities Scotland’s Learning & Teaching Committee wrote a letter to QAA relating to QAA Scotland’s consultation on the Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER) method. This letter is a collective high-level response has been shared with QAA. Many institutions will also be responding directly with more detailed responses to the questions. The LTC response covers a…
September
05
2024
New report shows the extent of universities’ role in driving economic growth in Scotland
New data reveals the economic impact delivered by Scotland’s 19 universities and higher education institutions at £17.1 billion and highlights that Scotland’s higher education sector offers a better economic return on public investment made in research and innovation than anywhere else in the UK, except London, with a benefit-to-cost ratio of nearly 11:1. As the…
August
12
2024
The National Student Survey: Amplifying the Student Voice and Enhancing University Experiences in Scotland
Last month, the National Student Survey (NSS) results for 2024 were published. Looking at the data, Mark Wild, our Learning and Teaching Policy Officer outlines the importance of this survey and what students think about Scottish higher education. NSS results for 2024 were published in July and speak to the quality of Scottish university education….
August
09
2024
Universities Scotland responds to HESA 2023-23 Higher Education Student Statistics
This week, the HESA Higher Education Student Statistics (UK, 2022/23) were published. In response to this a Universities Scotland Spokesperson has said: “The HESA data set it is a snap-shot from almost two-years ago, before we saw sudden fluctuations in international demand and a further year of the threats of more restrictive changes to UK…
August
09
2024
Where Scottish students are studying – an overview of HESA’s 2022-23 student data
HESA’s student data release in August generated headlines around the balance of Scottish and international students. To get a solid sense of what’s happening with student numbers by domicile, we need to work across a couple of different data sets. HESA’s student data gives us a (recent) historical picture across all domiciles. The most recent…