The UGC and Selective Cuts in Public Funding: Moving Towards a More Nuanced Model of the University and Beyond Institutional Autonomy

Abstract

This chapter explores the implications for the traditional model of the English university of the sharp cuts in public funding announced in the UGC’s Circular Letter 1981/82. The funding cuts were a consequence of government policy; although there were some who felt that the UGC should have resigned and have refused to impose them. One big issue was the selective imposition of the cuts—the financial pain was not experienced equally! One big problem is that there seemed to be a lack of criteria to guide the cuts and it was unclear as to what was the evidence used to guide the decisions. But clearly the UGC was abandoning the principle of institutional autonomy, cutting student numbers in the university sector, and encouraging academics to take early retirement. The research model of the university emerged as the preferred template and the universities became more managed institutions as they started to implement long-term academic planning. The chapter explores the differential impact of the cuts upon the 1960s new universities and discusses the question why universities that had been triumphantly founded by the UGC but a short time ago should now face cuts in public funding. Had the UGC failed to be sufficiently forthcoming in its funding strategy?