Why UK Universities are Going Bankrupt

UK universities are currently facing a major funding crises that puts some institutions at risk of bankruptcy in the next few years. So in this video, we'll explain what's happening, how the government exacerbated the issue and why it needs to be fixed.

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00:00 Introduction
01:07 Lack of EU Funding
01:44 Inflation
02:39 Overseas Students
06:18 How to Solve It?
07:29 Ground News

[ElectricityTaster]

_"Universities are still one of the few things the UK does well"_

Westminster: _TARGET ACQUIRED!_

[davegibson]

In rushing to blame the government, you miss out a very important issue. Universities have become huge managerial bureaucracies. They pay insane salaries to the people at the top who don't even teach or research, and they have been taken over by administrators who create reasons for their own existence and interfere with the teaching by the faculty. Academics are pushed to work long hours and produce several poor quality research papers a year, whereas previously they would produce one good paper every two or three years. The reason it's suddenly so expensive to 'teach' students (who actually receive less teaching than ever before) is that universities have become corporations rather than institutions, with all the nonsense that comes with that.

[MrDirkles]

I used to work at the university of Essex which of course is in the UK. In 2018 during a meeting with management the head of the university said to other managers, " I don't care what you have to f*cking say or do just get the f*cking tuition fees off them!" He was of course refering to signing up new students. If you're a parent and you are thinking of sending your son/daughter to Essex university then don't. If you go to their open days the management instruct staff and researchers to lie to you about job prospects for graduates in the hope they can get those tuition fees. What they never tell you are where graduates end up after leaving with their piece of paper and the reason they don't readily tell you is that the numbers are so shocking. Essex uni has one of the lowest job prospects for graduates.

Oh and they use the same exams year in year out in a desperate bid to raise their rankings. Oh and don't even get me started on the dyslexia scam. The more dyslexia students they say they have the more money they can get. It's total bullshit!

[cammiechaos]

When you have to buy your own books, have limited printers available to print and none for free, accommodate yourself, feed yourself, and have say 100 people on your course, how the fuck does it cost £5000 per student per year in the first place. I'm baffled.

[bluegoose]

I'm finding it hard to feel sorry for them. They have made being a student miserable and the cost simply can not be justified anymore when postgraduates STILL cant even find work. It's seen as an investment, but they have turned it into a high risk investment. People aren't willing to take that risk, not to mention the ramifications it has on student's lives. If you go to uni, you cant afford to save money, you cant afford rent, let alone a mortgage, you cant afford to feed your family or even start a so is it really worth it to a lot of people?

[abmong]

It's becoming like the international students are the full-fee paying customers and the British students are the "scholarship" students.

[bassetts]

The worst thing the government did to universities was to stop subsidising tuition fees for nursing students. We'll always need nurses, but what exactly are the incentives for young people to become a nurse? Back in 2010 when I did my degree, the only benefit I could see of studying nursing (as opposed to another useful degree like psychology) was the lack of debt at the end of it.

[extrude]

Is there anything in the UK which isn’t in crisis?

[chunkychops]

The video does not once question why it costs the university over £11k per student.
A few hours of lectures and the rest of the time reading from books (paid or at additional expense to the students).
Instead of suggesting more money needs to be spent, how about an explanation as to how the university needs over £11k per student just to break even... Where is this excess money going? Wages? Pensions?

Also, a sleight of hand from the presenter here. When he compared tuition fees increase against inflation, he neglected to mention that the year before his comparison, tuition fees were under 4 grand. So the inflation picture looks a lot different... This is how to lie with statistics.

[Mitjitsu]

I think the focus of the debate should be why it's so expensive, and not trying to come up with ways fill the shortfalls.

[tobyFOTS]

What they did over COVID was a joke. 9 k for a online and no face to face lessons...

[christianmarriott]

At 9k a term and providing only a few hours tuition per week for that. HOW THE FUCK are they losing money ?

[bartekdgpl]

Amazing British universities have given us big brains like Boris Johnson (Oxford), Liz Truss (Oxford), and Kwasi Kwarteng (Cambridge)

[yjk]

Uk student here paying £9250 a year for an average of 6-8 hours of lectures and about the same in pre recorded lectures per week. The university terms are basically oct-may with breaks for Christmas and Easter, so about 7 months total.
So assume 32 hours per week for 30 weeks, that totals to 960 hours a year. Just over £9.50 an hour.
This is per person in an engineering degree, with almost no practical work to speak of. Its all lectures and theory.

Recently the university invested millions into a new tech building featuring all sorts of high end stuff prominantly displayed for passers by to see. These get used by a handful of people doing research.

So I highly doubt the university is losing any money on your average undergrad, rather it wastes the majority of it on stuff only a few people will see in their entire uni experience.

[sarawilliam]

Bankruptcy is a legal process that individuals or businesses can undergo when they are unable to repay their debts. It provides a framework for financial relief and a fresh start. There are different types of bankruptcy, such as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 in the United States, each with its own rules and implications. Bankruptcy can have long-term effects on one's credit and financial standing, so it's essential to carefully consider the decision and seek professional advice when facing overwhelming debt.

[electro_empire]

One thing that i think is important to mention is that in 2012 the cap for UK student fees was raised from £3k to £9k a year, whilst at the same time central government funding of universities was slashed (due to austerity) so whilst at first it looks like universities were getting 3x more money per student, in actuality it stayed the same and over time actually became less (because of the cap being frozen and not keeping up with inflation)

[blaz]

It’s almost like education works better as a public good, not a for-profit industry. Totally inconceivable…

[dayhwaiting]

Halting prospects of international students when you want them in your university to pay those insane prices. A lot of parents don't think it's worth it to send them to the UK, when there are better options such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The UK has been on a high horse for too long in terms of so called academic prestige, that is very much replaceable.

[Ofelas]

From the inside: huge salaries mainly for admin, nepotism, high and rising fees, high cost of living for students

[alexhanson]

It's almost like university fees are a fucking stupid idea.