News

NO FUNDING CUTS OR CAP ON PLACES AT BUCKINGHAM

A group of Buckingham students enjoying a lecture

Monday 1 February 2010

The news that the Higher Education Funding Council (Hefce) is making heavy cuts in university funding means that this year there will be thousands fewer university places available to UK students and that student-to-staff ratios on existing courses will be higher than ever - but not at the University of Buckingham where, in response to this news, additional places are available across all of our academic departments.

The University of Buckingham is Britain's only independent university and consequently is not state-funded or affected by Hefce cuts. Vice-Chancellor, Dr Terence Kealey, has long argued that the only way for universities to be better funded and more effective is for them to charge higher fees, reflecting the true cost of tuition - something that Buckingham has always done. This allows us to treat our students as individuals and to teach them in small groups. We are also able to support a wide variety of academic research and our staff are actively encouraged to publish their work.

Buckingham has been top of the National Student Survey (which measures UK student satisfaction) for the past four years and we have recently re-entered the league tables. We are also top for graduate employment with 100 per cent of our 2007-08 cohort going on to work or further study (Times Higher Education, 19 July 2009). Our stance on tuition fees has been at odds with the state sector but we - and events - have demonstrated that it is effective and sustainable.

Report by the Web Team