by Joe Rukin
Professor Alan Smithers, of Liverpool University and a leading government adviser has said "merger mania" would inevitably result from the market pressures introduced by the far-reaching higher education reforms, with upto one in six universities in England could disappear in the next five years. Smithers said that former polytechnics which relied on entry through clearing will be hardest hit and that in the future under top-up fees
"They will not be able to follow more prestigious universities in charging higher fees and they will face a real economic squeeze as a result. The most likely way institutions will respond to this is by mergers, which I think could see us lose around 20 of the 120 or so existing institutions in England over the next five years. That would appear to threaten the Government's target to increase participation in higher education - except it is now becoming clear this will be met by youngsters on new two-year vocational degrees, many of them studying at further education colleges."
But of course it won't matter if all these places face trouble because if they go bust, big business will be able to take them over lock, stock and barrel. Two multinational companies are seeking to set up as universities in the UK with powers to award their own degrees, according to the academic head of an American university in London. Professor Geoffrey Alderman, vice-president of academic affairs at the American InterContinental University in London, said the companies - which he declined to name - were interested in recruiting thousands of employee/students to study for degrees. Speculation has started (well it starts here) that this may be Ford and Microsoft as when the Dagenham car plant closed last year it was reported that they were interested in turning the site into a university. (This fact was only reported in Auto Trader and educationet.org by the way!). Microsoft must surely be at the head of anyones list of companies wishing to get into education, but would have a too narrow base of teaching to gain university status on their own. They are joined by seven higher education colleges in England that are seeking university status, which of course if they suddenly all become 'universities' all their students will be counted in the official figures as the government pushes for it's 50% participation target.
Professor Alderman, formerly head of quality assurance at Middlesex University, said
"These two private corporations have very extensive in-house training programmes, which in one case at the moment are delivered in collaboration with a variety of British and overseas universities. The multinational concerned is saying to itself 'why can't we deliver this ourselves and get degree awarding powers?"
One of those institutions which will boost the figures of course is the 'NHS University'. Currently Basingstoke is the front-runner in the race to host it. Whilst healthcare professionals may have been raising a glass to toast the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA, many might not have noticed plans to close the department where a big chunk of it happened. King's College London says it can no longer afford to run the chemistry department. Ina a statement, King's said the department was losing more than £1.25 million a year and draining resources from other areas. Dr David Giarchardi, chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said "The chemistry department at King's was one of the jewels in the British campus chemistry crown. This strikes at the heart of chemistry at a time when chemical sciences are of huge importance in progressing the health and wealth of the nation."
Also on the way out is Liverpool Universitys education department. The university announced that the 100 year old department will close in 2004 and is the first time that an entire university department has been closed down at Liverpool. The end for more than 200 postgraduate courses is of course down to financial reasons.
Merger talks between the University of Huddersfield and Doncaster College have been abandoned. A spokesman for Doncaster said they would now look elsewhere:
"We'll look to make partnerships and alliances with others. There's a climate at the moment where there are a number of mergers going through."
Huddersfield marked the occasion by announcing another 39 redundancies.
The Manchester Met site at Alsager which was planned for closure may be saved by the merger of Chester College and Warrington College. The two colleges plan to merge and form Cheshire University College and they have entered into talks with Congleton Borough Council about having a campus in south-east Cheshire at Alsager.
If ever there was a pointer that the difference between HE & FE was blurring, this is possibly it. The Scottish funding councils for higher and further education are to merge under the executive's plans to boost lifelong learning. Enterprise and lifelong learning minister Iain Gray said a lot but not much that was relevant;
"This new strategy recognises the crucially important role that learning plays in the future economic prosperity of Scotland. It sets out a clear agenda for matching learning opportunities with the skills needed to strengthen Scotland's economy and society. Learning - gaining new skills and new knowledge - is a lifetime opportunity and a lifetime achievement. Different types of learning help people to develop their potential in different ways; from accessing jobs and careers that may have seemed out of their reach to fostering new interests that enrich their lives."
A place with loads of cash it seems is The University of Bradford. Or is that Bradford University? In planning for the merger of University and Bradford College, there has been a study to come up with a name for the new institution. After three months and £20,000, yes that's £20,000, they came up with three possible names; Bradford University, University of Bradford and The University of Bradford.
Elaine Byrom, chairman of Bradford Council's Education scrutiny committee, said:
"It is farcical. A six-year-old would have been able to deliver the same judgement with ease."
A university spokeswoman said it represented good value for money!
Gordon Browns response to universities crying out for more money has been to go somewhere else. He is threatening to cut government funding for universities unless they agree to sweeping management reforms and attract more sponsorship from industry. An inquiry into collaboration between higher education and business, commissioned by the Treasury, will now "ask business for its views on the present governance, management and leadership arrangements of higher education institutions".
At the moment of course its been more a case of private companies taking money from universities. Jarvis now has been confirmed as the preferred partner for a 35-year contract to manage the University of Nottingham's Broadgate Park Campus, worth a minimum of £117m and have just taken their 13th 'partnership project', again appointed as preferred bidder for a 35-year scheme to provide and manage accommodation for more than 400 students at Reading University's St George's Hill campus in a deal worth £15m. Jarvis a firm with a 'track record' in more ways than one has just been given permission to run its first set of schools. A £34m contract to build a research institute for medical cell biology for the University of Edinburgh has been awarded to Balfour Beatty.
BBC, £20,000 university name survey criticised
IC Liverpool, University dept faces axe
Telegraph, Chemistry 'closure' shock at university
IC Huddersfield, University staff told of 39 job losses
This is Hampshire, Town leads race to land NHS University
Guardian, Multinationals to apply for university status
This is London, Student rent hits £100 a week
Guardian, LSE students fear halls rent hike
This is London, Universities could be forced to merge
IC Hudderfield, University merger off
Guardian,
Scottish funding councils to merge
Beartown, Alsager may remain as a university campus.
Sharecast, Jarvis preferred partner for university contract
EGI, Jarvis picked to provide Reading University accommodation
Contract Journal, Balfour wins £34m university contract
