Modul de formare-Managementul resurselor financiare - uefiscdi

1.3.2. The financing of the public higher education institutions in the UK
Until 1992, the Universities Funding Council and the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding
Council were responsible for the funding of higher education institutions. Since 1992 Higher
Education Funding Councils were founded at regional level.
In addition to the core funding provided to the education and research, The Higher Education
Funding Council supplements this funding with other funds for various purposes (to cover debts
inherited from the institutions previously under local authority control, the coverage of
operational costs in the London area, the maintenance of libraries, museums, galleries, etc..).
The Regional Council of Higher Education Funding allocates to the universities annual grants,
largely determined by a specific funding mechanism. The grants are awarded in the form of
global finance and they are internal distributed autonomous .
Funds for education and research are strictly separated. Through the distribution of funds for
education and research, Higher Education Funding Council seeks to maintain diversity and to
develop opportunities, encouraging efficiency in the use of the public funds.
The higher education institutions receive public funds in the form of grants and subsidies to
cover school fees awarded by the Higher Education Funding Council 7 .The students with full
frequency receive frequent government assistance for school fees, according to their family
financial status.The students enrolled in postuniversitary courses involving only teaching and
not a research activity are paying their school fees in full.
However, the school fees of students enrolled in postuniversitary courses in research are
covered - mostly - by the Research Council. More than 1 / 3 of the tuition fees of students with
low frequency are paid by the employers.
The education financing, the research funding and the subsidies granted to cover a part of the
tuition fees are separate and independent parts of the institutional allowance. The grants and
subsidies granted to cover the school fees represent the public higher education resources.
The mechanism for allocating funds for universities consist in four main stages 8 :
1. determining the standard resources for each institution
2. determining the current resources of the institution
3. the comparison of the two levels and
4. determining the final grants
For each institution of higher education, the standard resources are determined based on the
standard number of students and educational profile. In order to quantify the number of
students it is considered the equivalent number of students with full frequency.
A student with low frequency is quantified by comparing his educational activity with the one
of a full frequency student. The students who are self-practice for a year outside the university
are quantified by the rate of 0.5 / student, compared to an equivalent student with full frequency
on that year.
To determine the standard financing for an institution for next year there are taken into account
the number of potential students, admitted through competition for next year in addition to the
existing number of students. Not all the students are funded in the same proportion. Factors like
the students type and the nature of the study are leading to a different level of resources. Taking
these factors into account in setting the standard resources, for each institution is granted certain
7 Theisens H. (2003), Country report: Higher Education in the United Kingdom, CHEPS, , pg. 32-35, also
available online at: http://utwente.nl/cheps/documenten/unitedkingdom.pdf, accessed on 12.03.2005.
8 Theisens H. (2003), Country report: Higher Education in the United Kingdom, CHEPS, , pg. 32-35, also
available on-line at: http://utwente.nl/cheps/documenten/unitedkingdom.pdf, accessed on 12.03.2005.
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