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Audit of Higher Education in Scottish Universities

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Audit of higher education in Scottish universities Prepared by Audit Scotland July 2016 Auditor General for Scotland The Auditor General’s role is to: • appoint auditors to Scotland’s central government and NHS bodies • examine how public bodies spend public money • help them to manage their finances to the highest standards • check whether they achieve value for money. The Auditor General is independent and reports to the Scottish Parliament on the performance of: • directorates of the Scottish Government • government agencies, eg the Scottish Prison Service, Historic Environment Scotland • NHS bodies • further education colleges • Scottish Water • NDPBs and others, eg Scottish Police Authority, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. You can find out more about the work of the Auditor General on our website: www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/about/ags Audit Scotland is a statutory body set up in April 2000 under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. We help the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission check that organisations spending public money use it properly, efficiently and effectively. Audit of higher education in Scottish universitiesSummary | 53 Contents Key facts 4 Summary 5 Part 1. The university higher education system in Scotland 10 Part 2. The role of Scottish Government in higher education 17 Part 3. University sector finances 30 Part 4. Being a student in Scotland 39 Part 5. Looking forward 49 Endnotes 54 Appendix 1. Universities in Scotland, 2014/15 58 Appendix 2. Project advisory group 60 Appendix 3. Audit methodology 61 Links PDF download Web link Exhibit data When viewing this report online, you can access background data by clicking on the graph icon. The data file will open in a new window. 4 | Key facts Approximate Scottish Number of £623 Government funding 19 universities million for university student support in 2014/15 Number of Average loan students in 232,570 £11,281 debt of a Scottish 2014/15 student in 2014/15 Total Scottish £1.1 £3.5 Total income of the Funding Council university sector in funding allocated to billion billion 2014/15 universities in 2014/15 Summary | 5 Summary Key messages 1 The Scottish higher education sector is successful and internationally renowned. Universities play an important role in Scotland’s development, both economically and socially. The Scottish Government provided over £1.1 billion funding for universities in 2014/15, and approximately £623 million funding for individual university students to help achieve national strategic objectives, such as making Scotland wealthier and fairer, and smarter. Overall Scottish Funding Council funding to universities has reduced by four per cent in real terms since 2010/11. In contrast, Scottish Government funding for university student support increased by approximately 37 per cent in real terms over the same period. The Scottish Government has set out a number of policy ambitions in relation to higher education. These include supporting world-class research and improving innovation, and widening access to university for students from deprived backgrounds. higher 2 The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) needs to do more to ensure that the education funding it receives from the Scottish Government makes the maximum plays an contribution to achieving the Scottish Government’s higher education policy ambitions. The current funding approaches to research, teaching, important and widening access make achieving policy ambitions challenging. The role in SFC needs to review its strategies for key areas, such as research and innovation, to ensure funding is used to best effect. Scotland’s development, 3 Overall, the Scottish higher education sector was in good financial health in 2014/15. Universities as a whole had income of £3.5 billion, and generated but there are a surplus of £146 million. The strong overall financial position masks significant underlying risks within the sector. Surpluses and reserves are concentrated in a small number of universities and some are heavily reliant on Scottish challenges Government funding at a time when it is reducing. Universities need to ahead continue generating surpluses and reserves and making efficiency savings to fund capital costs and subsidise some of their activities. They are placing increasing reliance on generating income from fee-paying students from the rest of the UK and outside the European Union (EU). 4 In 2014/15, there were 232,570 students studying at Scottish universities, 66 per cent of whom were Scottish. Overall student numbers have increased by five per cent over the last ten years and the student population is becoming increasingly international. It has become more difficult in recent years for Scottish and EU students to gain a place at a Scottish university as applications have increased at a greater rate than increases in the number of places that the SFC funds for Scottish and EU students. 6 | 5 The sector faces a number of significant challenges from increasing costs, potential further reductions in Scottish Government funding, and risks to their ability to continue to increase income from other sources, particularly fee-paying students from the rest of the UK and non-EU countries. The Scottish Government, SFC and universities need to work together to plan for, and address, these challenges. Continuing pressure on Scottish Government finances in future years means it needs to ensure its approach to funding higher education is sustainable if its policy priorities are to be delivered. Recommendations The Scottish Government should: • ensure future decisions on levels of funding for higher education, and the areas funded, fully support its longer-term higher education policy ambitions. It should ensure that it is clear about its policy priorities where budgets remain under pressure • progress work on implementing the recommendations of the Commission on Widening Access. The Scottish Government and SFC should: • ensure they have a shared understanding of the impact of policy and funding decisions, taken by both the SFC and Scottish Government, on the SFC’s ability to maximise its contribution to achieving the Scottish Government’s higher education policy ambitions • undertake and publish research on trends in applications, offer rates and acceptances for Scottish university places to assess what impact the limits on funded places are having on access to the university system for Scottish and EU students. They should consider the implications of this research for existing policy ambitions and funding approaches. The SFC should: • ensure it has strategies for research and innovation that: – set out clearly: – what the SFC’s aims and objectives are for these areas – how it plans to achieve its aims and objectives – how performance will be measured – align with the outcomes and activities in the SFC’s new strategic plan and Scotland’s Economic Strategy • finalise its long-term capital investment strategy Summary | 7 • ensure decisions on funding and activities in key areas, such as research, innovation, and teaching, fully align with, and support, achieving the Scottish Government's policy ambitions • finalise its performance management framework to enable it to assess and report publicly on its progress in implementing its strategic plan • regularly assess and clearly report on the performance of the higher education sector, including its financial health • review the outcome agreement process, with universities and the Scottish Government, to ensure that: – it is fully aligned with the SFC’s new strategic plan – outcome agreements provide sufficient assurance that public funding is contributing effectively to delivering national objectives – individual universities’ performance against targets is presented in a transparent and consistent way in the outcome agreements. The Scottish Government, SFC and universities should: • progress plans to develop a long-term framework, as set out in the Scottish Government’s 2015 Draft Budget document, for the Scottish Government and the higher education sector to work together to maximise the benefits of higher education for Scotland • progress work to develop an agreed approach to achieving the national targets for widening access. The Scottish Government and Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) should: • analyse existing student bursary and loan data to identify the impact of current student finance policies on different groups of students, such as those from deprived backgrounds or part-time students. Universities should: • work individually, across the sector, and with partners, to: – further develop efficient ways of delivering high-quality teaching, research, and innovation. This includes looking at different ways of working, such as increased collaboration, joint provision, and the use of new technologies – identify further opportunities to diversify, and maximise, income streams as part of ensuring their longer-term financial sustainability. 8 | Background 1. Higher education delivers a wide range of benefits to individuals and society. It contributes to economic growth through higher employment rates, tax revenues and greater productivity and innovation. Wider, non-market benefits include greater social cohesion, higher earnings, longer life expectancy, and improved health and wellbeing for individuals.1 2. Higher education is the common term that describes study up to undergraduate or postgraduate-degree level. Scottish universities and colleges both provide higher education. A Scottish honours degree
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