Queen’s University, Ulster University and The Open University have warned that the current funding arrangements are ‘no longer sustainable’.
University chiefs in Northern Ireland have jointly called on the region’s political leaders to back a significant uplift in tuition fees, warning that failure to tackle a funding crisis in the sector will force them to cut places for local students.
In an unprecedented step, the heads of Queen’s University, Ulster University and The Open University, Ireland have co-signed a letter to the five largest parties at Stormont to warn the current financial arrangements are “not sustainable”.
In the letter to the party leaders, seen by the PA news agency, the vice chancellors of Queen’s and Ulster University, Professor Sir Ian Greer and Professor Paul Bartholomew, and the director of The Open University Ireland, John D’Arcy, express fears the brain drain of young talent leaving Northern Ireland to study elsewhere will accelerate without “urgent intervention”.
The university heads outline in stark terms the consequences of continued inaction on the funding issue.
They wrote: “As leaders within the higher education sector in the region, we are committed to expanding access to the opportunities our institutions provide; but an underfunded higher education sector will inevitably lead to us having to take the difficult decision to reduce the proportion of local students in our institutions.”
The three leaders acknowledge any increase in tuition fees agreed by Stormont should not be seen in “isolation” and they also express support for a corresponding uplift in the maintenance grant available to students from low-income households.
The letter has been endorsed by the principals of Northern Ireland’s two dedicated teacher training colleges – Stranmillis and St Mary’s – with Professor Peter Finn from St Mary’s and Professor Jonathan Hegarty from Stranmillis sending a similar letter to Stormont Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, whose department has responsibility for higher education funding.
The move by the university and college heads has also been backed by a range of leading business organisations in the region.
A statement of support has been signed by the heads of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, the CBI, the Institute of Directors, the Centre for Competitiveness, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Belfast, Londonderry and Causeway chambers of commerce.
Annual tuition fees for students from the island of Ireland studying in Northern Ireland are currently capped at £4,750.
Students from the rest of the UK who study in Northern Ireland pay up to £9,250. That is the same amount paid by Northern Ireland students studying in universities and colleges in England, Scotland and Wales.
The £9,250 cap is increasing to £9,535 at the start of the next academic year in the autumn.
The Northern Ireland university chiefs are not pressing for major structural changes to the current funding model, rather an increase to the fee cap for island of Ireland student to reflect the inflationary pressures of recent years.
Their letter expresses frustration that tuition fee increases in Northern Ireland since 2011 have “consistently fallen below inflation” while costs have “risen dramatically”.
Citing an example, the higher education leaders said if 2021 was taken as a new baseline point to apply retrospective inflationary uplifts, the corrected fee cap would be £5,831.
“This level of fee is still well below fees in England and Wales, which will be £9,535 in the next academic year,” said the letter.
“Index-linking the funding level will also protect the shared-investment approach that has served Northern Ireland well and guard against future further erosion of the per-student funding model.”
The funding model in Northern Ireland is different to England and Wales, where institutions are primarily funded through tuition fees. In Northern Ireland, the Stormont Executive provides much more direct funding to further education institutions – a reason why the tuition fees are lower in the region.
Scottish students studying in Scotland pay no tuition fees, with the Scottish Government funding places for local students.
Universities across the UK also raise funds through their own commercial activities and by offering places to international students, who usually pay significantly more than local students.
The sector as a whole has been hit by a sharp decline in the number of overseas students coming to the UK to study – a drop attributed to recent changes to visa rules.
The university leaders stressed any increase to the fee cap should not be accompanied by a decrease in the amount of direct funding from Stormont.
The letter was addressed to Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, DUP leader Gavin Robinson, Alliance leader Naomi Long, UUP leader Mike Nesbitt and SDLP leader Claire Hanna.
It was also circulated to First Minister Michelle O’Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly, Economy Minister Ms Archibald and the leader of the official opposition at the Assembly, SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole.
The letter concluded: “We encourage all-party agreement in considering updating the current funding model by making this hitherto deferred, necessary inflationary adjustment – and by so doing preserve the distinctive philosophy of the Northern Ireland higher education funding model while delivering sustainability for the sector and maintaining opportunities for the students we support.”
