Decreased funding for Scottish Universities: SFC Budget Cuts to Affect St Andrews?

As the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) settles its new budget allocations for the 2024-25 academic year, St Andrews and its fellow Scottish universities face the impact of budget cuts for higher education. The SFC, which represents the funding body of the Scottish Government, has rocked the financial landscape for Scottish universities. It has introduced budget cuts that will reshape higher education norms across the country.

In its recently released funding allocation budget, the SFC announced that its overall university resource budget is £760.7 million, a significant loss of £28.5 million (about 3.6 per cent) compared to the previous year. In a press statement, Professor Iain Gillespie, Convener of Universities Scotland, said that the new budget was “by far the toughest funding settlement universities have faced,” and that “the Funding Council has been forced to make some very difficult choices.”

The SFC has cut its budget on Teaching Grants by £17.6 million worth of funds. This means there is now a tighter budget for teaching resources, fewer funded student places, and a potential impact on the quality of higher education. It directly impacts how universities maintain their  'unit of resource' — the amount of funding per student — to ensure a high-quality learning experience. A reduction of funded places could lead to heightened competition for admission. This ultimately makes it more difficult for applicants, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to secure a spot at St Andrews and other leading Scottish Universities. 

Furthermore, teaching experience and academic quality have circumscribed St Andrews as a leading university across the UK. Its small class sizes and student-to-staff ratio; characteristics which have become synonymous with St Andrews, have enabled the university to score highly in student satisfaction percentages. The 2024 National Student Survey (NSS) ranked St Andrews as the best university for student experience, and second for teaching quality across the UK. The University also received two separate awards from The Sunday Times: Top Scottish University of the Year and University of the Year for Student Experience. At its core, St Andrews is a university that prioritises fostering close relationships between students and faculty, enhancing the learning experience, and contributing to student success. If funding cuts compel the university to increase class sizes or reduce faculty positions, the characteristics that set St Andrews apart from its competitors could be compromised.

However, according to St Andrews’s released 2023 Final Financial Statement from the University court, SFC funding made up only 13.4 per cent of St Andrews’s total income for the academic year, situating St Andrews as better prepared for budget cuts than its counterparts, such as Edinburgh Napier University and the University of West Scotland, who rely on SFC funding to make up 35 to 40 per cent, and 40 to 45 per cent of their total incomes respectively.

St Andrews’s diverse income is due to its high percentages of international applications. According to Iain Gillespie, Convener of Universities Scotland, these incomes have been “relied on by most institutions in recent years as a source of income to cover the shortfall in government funding in every Scottish student’s place.” Despite cuts, the SFC’s new budget is not devoid of silver lining. It has prioritised an increase in research and innovation funding by £12.6 million, of which St Andrews stands to benefit. The additional funds will propel research projects and support postgraduate studies, hopefully developing St Andrews research output and thereby boosting it on International University leaderboards. Inevitably, the SFC’s £28.5 million cut in funding has resulted in Scottish institutions grappling with the implications of reduced teaching resources and fewer funded places. The SFC’s new budget allocations for the 2024-25 academic year compels St Andrews and other higher education institutions across Scotland to navigate this new financial landscape with a greater focus on research and diversity.

Photo from WikiCommons