Arts ‘bearing brunt’ of university cuts, British Academy president warns

Arts and humanities subjects are “bearing the brunt” of cuts to the university sector, according to British Academy president Julia Black.

Delivering the keynote address at the British Academy’s inaugural SHAPE conference, Black warned warned there will be short and long-term consequences if the government does not make changes to address the sustainability of the higher education system.

She said it was “no surprise” that many subject areas within SHAPE disciplines – social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy – are “bearing the brunt” of cuts across the sector during “a particularly challenging time financially” and called upon attendees to more widely communicate their benefits individuals and society.

However, Black said while it was right to emphasise the importance of the SHAPE disciplines, “SHAPE and STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] must stand together”.

“When financial pressures force universities to make tough choices, students suffer,” said Black.

“Staff suffer. Communities suffer. Subjects which are expensive to teach, which have less certain short-term returns, or which require specialist experience or equipment often bear the brunt.

“This affects both STEM and SHAPE disciplines, from modern languages and music to chemistry and nursing. And when a cold spot emerges in one discipline, it disrupts the wider system of knowledge, research and skills that our economy and society rely on.

“This has far-reaching impacts on students – when you learn more, you earn more, and cold spots in provision mean those who cannot afford to move from home to study are shut out from opportunity.”

Lack of coherent policy

Calling for an urgent review of higher education funding, Black said there needs to be a coherent policy across government on teaching, research, immigration and security, but added that it is difficult to know with which part of government or even which government within the UK, to have the conversation.

Explaining the current system’s complexity, Black said: “Education is a devolved matter, and the curriculum changes in all four nations are impacting student subject choices at university, as is the wider political narrative on the relative value of different degrees.

“As for research, some funding is devolved, but the bulk of research funding comes from the UK government through [the] Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

“Meanwhile student fees in England are set by The Treasury and in the devolved nations by their governments, whilst it is the Home Office which sets immigration policy for all students entering the UK.

“As for security and issues of trusted research, that too is disseminated. In short, no one part of any government within the UK seems to want to recognise the collective impact their decisions are having on universities or to take responsibility for it.”

‘Difficult conversations’

Black added that any overhaul of the way governments across the UK engage with universities would need some “difficult conversations” around autonomy for higher education institutions, noting “while universities are independent, their impact is not”.

“They are not independent of the communities they serve or the country as a whole. Decisions which it may be rational for one university to make may not, in aggregate, be producing outcomes which are beneficial for the country at large,” said Black.

“I have argued that government needs to see our university sector as a system, but how much ‘system management’ does government want to do? And do universities, who are rightly protective of their autonomy, really want the government to be a ‘system manager’, and what would that look like?

“Does the sector want a return to student number controls? Does it want government to say which subjects should be taught where? We all know the problems – it is beholden on the sector to step up to become collective authors of the solution.”