Public University - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, public funding provides around two-thirds of all universities' funding, with the exceptions of the University of Buckingham and BPP University College, are currently funded mainly by government teaching and research grants. From September 2012 government funding for teaching and background funding for research will be substantially reduced, with one study indicating that annual Government funding for teaching and research will make up just 15% of universities’ income by 2015. At all English universities, excluding the University of Buckingham and BPP University College, the UK government also caps tuition fees for first (bachelor's) degrees; setting the maximum that a university can charge, student funding and student loans. The state controls the founding of universities, through Royal charters. The UK government commissions and regulates a research assessment and teaching review. However, unlike in some Continental European countries, the UK government does not own universities' assets, and university staff are not civil servants. Government regulation arises as a condition of accepting funding from bodies such as HEFCE and any university can choose to leave the HEFCE regulated system at any time.

In Scotland, the first degree studied is free and paid for by the Scottish government; as a result of EU law, this means that students from other EU countries can study for free. There is also a change of direction funding in which a student can change course or degree after a year without imposing financial penalties or having to pay extra.

With the release of the 2010 Browne report and the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review, this model of funding higher education has been modified in England. From 2012 much more of the responsibility for funding undergraduate university teaching will be placed on students, through increased student loans provided by the UK government. The government will also continue to fund research, give limited funding to master's degrees and will continue to contribute (albeit in a reduced manner) to some undergraduate degrees, particularly those in the natural sciences. Different arrangements will continue to apply elsewhere in the United Kingdom.