The CyMAL grant paperwork is now available and the schemes are open for applications from libraries (and museums and archives) in Wales for 2012-13 projects.
Libraries in Wales can apply for grants in a range of priority areas within the Innovation and Development scheme. The closing date for applications is 23rd January 2012.
More information from: http://libalyson.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/2012-13-cymal-grant-schemes-open/
The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales has announced how £377.1 million of funding for higher education in Wales will be allocated in the academic year (AY) 2011/12.
All its funding will be committed according to priorities in For our Future, the Welsh Assembly Government’s strategy for higher education, which includes:
•Widening access to higher education
•Supporting part-time students
•Supporting a buoyant economy through innovation and engagement activities
•Strengthening research performance
•Developing Welsh medium provision in universities
•Encouraging the development of collaboration in regions in order to strengthen support for local learners and employers.
Reflecting the priorities above, HEFCW will distribute £336.7 million teaching and research funding to universities and colleges in Wales, compared to £361.3 million from the previous academic year.
Overall, there will be 4.6% cut in funding with funding for teaching falling by 8.4%. For individual HEIs, the overall impact of the funding changes ranges from a cut of 8.9% to an increase of 16.7%.
There is a good summary in the press release.
Full details of the announcement can be found here:
W11/12HE: Strategic Implementation Allocations 2011/12
This circular sets out HEFCW’s overall budget distribution for the academic year 2011/12, including individual institutional allocations for teaching and research.
HEFCW is an Assembly Government Sponsored Body. They receive an annual remit letter from the Welsh Assembly Government showing work areas for the following year to be delivered through the funding they are allocated.
The 2011-12 Remit Letter from the Welsh Assembly Government is now available on the HEFCW website:
http://www.hefcw.ac.uk/about_he_in_wales/wag_priorities_and_policies/annual_remit_letter_hefcw.aspx
Education Minister Leighton Andrews has told universities in Wales that there will be fewer of them by 2013.
Mr Andrews told the Institute of Welsh Affairs’ conference higher education institutions must “adapt or die”.
He warned their future funding, including being allowed to charge higher tuition fees, would depend on a willingness to “progress swiftly to merger and reconfiguration”.
He said: “There will be fewer higher education institutions in Wales by 2013 and fewer vice-chancellors. That does not mean fewer students or fewer campuses.”
A spokesperson for Higher Education Wales said the government’s policy on reconfiguration and collaboration is “well understood”.
She said: “A number of institutions have implemented, or are discussing, structural change.
“Higher Education institutions are committed to delivering public benefit for Wales – indeed that is at the core of their existence and is the basis of their charitable status.”
Read the news report at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-11911375
Ann Rossiter, Executive Director of SCONUL said today in response to the Browne Review:
“Libraries play a vital role in teaching and supporting students. Research by HEFCE has shown that the quality of library facilities is a key factor for students when choosing which university to attend. And as Browne recognises, student satisfaction is higher where universities fund and value their library services.
“The importance of libraries must be reflected in the new funding system for HE. Similarly, given the likely higher education funding cuts in next week’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Vice Chancellors must carefully consider where they wield the axe, ensuring they keep the services that students value most highly.”
Lord Browne’s review identifies library facilities as one of the key determinants of student satisfaction.
The last decade has been a period of unprecedented change for university libraries. The rapid growth in numbers of students and staff across the higher education sector has been accompanied by the move to a substantially-digital environment, with some fundamental changes in how libraries and their users operate.
As they have responded to new developments over the past decade, and changed their operations, most university libraries have seen continued growth in their budgets in real terms. The next few years are going to be much more difficult in financial terms. Libraries therefore face a period in which they will have to cope with continued rapid, perhaps transformational, change, accompanied by reductions in their budgets.
In that context, this briefing paper from RIN looks at how the financial position of libraries in the higher education sector has changed over the period between 1999 and 2009 (the latest year for which statistics are available).
Overall, this briefing presents a picture in which library expenditure has been rising in real terms, but not as fast as expenditure – and activity – in the HE sector as a whole. So libraries face some real challenges as they prepare for a more difficult financial climate, with real and substantial cuts in expenditure.
The report and briefing sheet are available to download at: http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/communicating-and-disseminating-research/trends-finances-uk-higher-education-libraries-1999
A number of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) 55 public bodies are set to be merged, abolished or streamlined as part of the Government’s drive to cut costs and increase transparency, accountability and efficiency, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced today.
Mr Hunt has proposed a number of changes, including:
Further proposals include:
More at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/news/news_stories/7280.aspx
Download HEFCW’s three-year corporate strategy, which sets out their vision and targets for higher education in Wales by the year 2013:
The Strategy will:
29 June 2010
Universities in Wales face closure and mergers under plans announced by Education Minister Leighton Andrews.
From Wales Online:
In a statement to AMs yesterday, he said: “The HEFCW [Higher Education Funding Council for Wales] has determined that by 2013 75% of HEIs in Wales will have an annual income above the UK median, and none will be in the lower quartile.
“This target does not mean fewer students. But it is likely to mean fewer vice chancellors. We will have significantly fewer HEIs in Wales but they will be larger and stronger. HEFCW will work with HEIs to achieve this smoothly and rapidly with my full backing and of the Cabinet.
“In line with this approach of consolidation and strengthening, HEFCW will this year devise a new method of funding research from 2011/12 which will support a sharper focus on areas of national priority, and critical mass.
“This will better equip Welsh HEIs to compete for research funds with other HEIs in the UK and beyond and be world leaders in their field. As a result of these changes I expect to see research income growth equal to or greater than elsewhere in the UK.”
In its own statement, universities funding body HEFCW yesterday said that it “believes there are too many higher education institutions in Wales for optimal effectiveness under contemporary, highly competitive, conditions”.
It said it wants to see “substantially fewer institutions, better able to take risks, withstand shocks, and remain innovative into the longer term”.
Roger Thomas, chair of HEFCW, said: “We plan to work with providers to build a first class higher education system in Wales that will perform at a high level and make best use of available funds, which is particularly important in the current economic climate.
“We have already started to target our funding to drive forward strategic goals.”
The body which represents universities in Wales, Higher Education Wales (HEW), said it would work with HEFCW and the minister on the plans.
Prof Noel Lloyd, chairman of HEW, said: “Discussions regarding future arrangements to deliver for students are proceeding apace in Wales, including a major new collaborative grouping between Trinity University College, Swansea Metropolitan University, and three FE colleges in South West Wales, while the University of Wales, Newport, is working with regional FE college partners.
“We have also seen the launch of the Aber-Bangor Skills Centre, and the launch of the Universities Heads of the Valleys Institute. We expect forthcoming discussions regarding regional strategies for higher education to improve the opportunities for new arrangements.”
He added: “Financial constraints are uppermost in people’s minds at present but it is important not to lose sight of the long term benefits that higher education will bring to Wales.
“The strategies show a deep understanding of these long term benefits. We must focus on the quality and value of the experience we offer to students, support them to complete their studies, and equip them with the skills they will require to find employment.
“The fundamental importance of our international reputation and activities is also well understood, particularly to maximise the value we deliver to Wales.”
You can read the statement and the debate here or watch the recording here
Posted in funding, news, policy, Welsh universities
Tagged funding, HEFCW, Welsh Assembly
