University of Bristol Vote of No Confidence in David Willetts

Staff and students at the University of Bristol, along with the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, are campaigning for a nationwide vote of no confidence in the policies of the Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts. Here is why: - The Government’s policy is financially chaotic and unsustainable. The Treasury budgeted for an average fee of £7500, but now more than two-thirds of Universities want to charge £9000 for some or all courses. - The 80% cut to the HEFCE Teaching grant will leave Universities systematically underfunded even with higher fees. - The academic profession in the UK has never been less attractive. The debts incurred to go through both undergraduate and postgraduate study could be as high as £87,000. Money for research is also being cut in real terms and what remains is being focused on the Government’s short-term agenda. - The consumer-producer relationship which the Government policies are designed to set up will undermine the spirit of academic community which is at the heart of the ethos of Higher Education. - The embarrassing U-turns of recent weeks are signs of a policy in total disarray. The HE sector is too important to be thrown into chaos by half-baked ideas and rapid rethinks. - The licensing of for-profit institutions to award degrees and the advocacy of overseas franchising by existing Universities are a threat to the reputation of the UK University system as a whole.