The Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester is battling to save funding worth £1.5m.
Due to cuts in funding for specialist universities, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has stated that the University is no longer eligible for support, which other land based colleges still receive. The funding helps with the running costs of smaller or more expensive courses, but a change in HEFCE guidelines means RAU will no longer be eligible for the majority of support it receives from the council.
RAU has said loss of funding would put the University at a competitive disadvantage, and claimed that the majority of its students are studying specialist agriculture courses, but are not enrolled as such.
Late last month, local MP Geoffrey Clifton Brown raised the issue in Parliament. Mr Clifton Brown said he hoped that his Parliamentary debate would lead HEFCE to reassess the situation.
Commenting last week, RAU’s vice chancellor, Professor Chris Gaskell said, “We are very grateful to Mr Clifton-Brown, as our MP and an alumnus of the University, for raising this issue in Parliament. While it represents a potentially significant amount of funding for the RAU, it is also a matter of principle and equity.
“The decision by HEFCE also runs counter to Government policy about maintaining a diverse higher education system, recognising specialist excellence, and encouraging education in globally important areas such as food supply and environmental management. The supportive response from the Minister will hopefully allow us to have sensible discussions with the funding council and prevent what would otherwise be a precipitous loss of funding.”
