Stark Financial Picture and High-Risk Financial Context for Universities Evident in Financial Sustainability Report The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has today (Friday, 26 September at 10.00) published its annual Financial Sustainability report for Scotland’s universities. Amongst the financial metrics, which cover the period 2022/23 to 2026/27 which includes some financial projections, key figures include: HEIs…
News
August
29
2025
A new national supercomputer for Edinburgh: why it matters for UK research
Professor Mark Parsons, Director of EPCC and Dean of Research Computing at the University of Edinburgh. EPCC, part of the University of Edinburgh, is the UK’s leading centre of Supercomputing and Data Science expertise has written an article on why the Supercomputer, hosted at the University of Edinburgh is important for UK research. As the…
August
05
2025
Record number of Scottish young people achieving a place at university
Universities Scotland welcomes news on SQA results day on the number of Scottish students securing an undergraduate place at university via UCAS in 2025. Commenting, Universities Scotland’s Deputy Director, Lesley Jackson said: “There are lots of positives for university applicants on SQA results day, including the record number of Scots aged 17 and 18 securing…
July
28
2025
Scotland’s Quiet Crisis: Why Clinical Research Needs Urgent Rescue
The heads of Scotland’s five medical schools have come together to co-author a piece, which can also be found in The Herald, published on Saturday 26 July, highlighting the quiet crisis facing clinical research in Scotland. Professor David Argyle, Vice Principal and Head of College of Medicine and Veterinary, University of Edinburgh, Professor David Blackbourn,…
July
11
2025
Good news: university students are satisfied with their experience. What does that teach us?
Universities Scotland Director, Claire McPherson, takes the positives and some policy lessons from the 2025 National Student Survey results, as published on 9 July. The National Student Survey results for 2025 are out and the top line is that our students are happy with their experience of higher education in Scotland. In the 2025 survey,…
June
25
2025
Prosper puts universities at the heart of policy recommendations underpinning growth in turbulent times
Universities are a key part of Scotland’s growth plan for turbulent times Prosper, Scotland’s membership organisation for all sectors and all industries, has today (25 June) published a new policy blueprint focused on unlocking growth in turbulent times. Framed within three national priorities of achieving a stronger economy, a Scotland where we get things done…
June
19
2025
Response to the Gillies’ report into the University of Dundee
The Scottish Funding Council commissioned Professor Pamela Gillies and professional services firm BDO to lead an independent investigation into the University of Dundee. The full report can be found on the Funding Council’s website. Responding to the report, Claire McPherson, Director of Universities Scotland said: “Professor Gillies’ report makes for very difficult but important reading…
May
27
2025
Yorkshire Universities: Reflections on Universities and Regional Economic Conference May 2025
Universities Scotland convened cross sector representatives at a “Universities and regional economic development” conference last week to develop a shared understanding of how universities are currently contributing to regional economic growth, and how they can most effectively contribute to thriving Scottish regions in the future. The importance of shared learning and collaboration was a key…
May
12
2025
UK Government immigration white paper; impact on Scotland’s universities
Following the publication of the UK Government’s immigration white paper, we have responded detailing the affects of today’s announcement on Scotland’s universities. UPDATE: Since publication of the Immigration White Paper on 12 May, the Scotland Office has confirmed that a decision on the applicability of the levy is to be devolved to the Scottish Government….
April
15
2025
Are we fair yet?
Rebecca Curran-Scarlett, Senior Policy & Information Officer at Lead Scotland shares the lived experience of disabled people in the university admissions process and why the Guarantee of Fairness and Guide for Disabled learners is so important in their application journey to university. In 2019, we launched a campaign to make access to university fairer for…