Beiträge zur Hochschulforschung - European University Association

26
Thomas Estermann, Enora Bennetot Pruvot
Public funding is not only diminishing in many countries, but also changing in the nature
and form in which it is provided to universities. It is increasingly subject to conditions
for its allocation or accompanied with growing accountability requirements. This has
given public authorities increasing steering power over universities, which can have
counterproductive effects as it can significantly contribute to reducing universities’
autonomy and their capacity to manage their own funds freely. Such developments
are worrisome as they can hinder universities’ capacity to successfully overcome the
crisis. The universities’ ability to respond effectively to the ongoing economic situation
has largely depended on the level of their institutional and, more especially, their fi-
nancial autonomy.
Major cuts to public funding of higher education were first observed in Latvia, where
an initial cut of 48 per cent at the beginning of 2009 was followed by a further cut of
18 per cent in 2010 stemming from the recommendations of the International Mon-
etary Fund and the World Bank to reduce public funding of higher education drasti-
cally. Although they follow several years of increases in university funding, the cuts
have put serious pressure on the Latvian higher education system, demanding major
changes and structural reforms to be introduced for the forthcoming years. Aca-
demic salaries have been significantly cut (up to 30 per cent).
In Italy, the 2010 financial law, which refers to the years 2011 to 2013, plans for a
cumulative decrease of 14 per cent with respect to 2010. However, the cut will also
have the effect of automatically diminishing universities’ income from tuition fees,
which are limited to a maximum of 20 per cent of their total public funding. The situ-
ation appears critical as some 25 universities already face a default risk in the near
future. At the same time, a wide-ranging reform of the higher education system is
being passed, which is to impact the way funding is delivered to universities.
The situation is also critical in Greece, where the student population has been increas-
ing while the government has been cutting higher education funding by up to 35 per
cent over 2010 and 2011.
England is also undergoing major changes at system level, following the release of
the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review. The higher education funding system is
being changed significantly. While funding for research is settling, teaching funding
through the Higher Education Funding Council for England will be reduced as of 2012.
This follows previous cuts in 2010 in teaching budgets and in capital funding. But the
situation in England is somewhat different from the other countries in this category.
The reduction of public funding is meant to be covered by higher contributions from
students (up to 9,000 pounds yearly for undergraduate courses), following the recom-
mendations of the Browne Review in October 2010. Under the new system, students
Beiträge zur Hochschulforschung, 33. Jahrgang, 2/2011