Opinion: Our universities deserve financial reassurance demanded in Warwick report
Imagine our region without its universities – without the presence of Wolverhampton University within the centre of the city, or its influential campuses in Telford and Walsall. Or of Stoke-on-Trent without Staffordshire University at its core.
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As a newspaper we have always championed our universities and will continue to do so.
The likes of Wolverhampton and Staffordshire universities provide thousands with the chance to experience higher education and to enhance their prospects in life.
They both offer world-leading tuition in many fields. We should all be very proud of the work they do.
But both are among those highlighted in recent days as being vulnerable to financial challenges, a fact born out by the recent removal of Wolverhampton University’s free bus services between campuses.
Today we have another report, from the nearby University of Warwick, that highlights the fragility of our UK universities. It says an absence of government support increases the possibility of a “disorderly exit” at some point by a university from the higher education sector somewhere in the country.
And they say it will only take the collapse of one university to create a “contagion” risk that could spread to others.
There is no suggestion that Wolverhampton or Staffordshire universities are at risk. They will continue to be a hugely important part of our region. But they also deserve the right to plan ahead and to flourish without having to keep cutting.
For the sake of all students, it is essential the government acts to provide all universities the financial reassurance sought by the Warwick report.
