England's Universities to Get Above Inflation Rise in Funding. (March7, 2008)

Total funds of close to £7.6 (A$16.5) billion for England's 131 universities and 128 colleges are designated for 2008-09 financial year. Included in the funding is money for 24,000 additional full-time equivalent students and increases for teaching and research.

£4.6 (A$10.0) billion is allocated for teaching - of which £364 (A$788) million is for widening participation, i.e. "addressing the large discrepancies in the take-up of higher education opportunities between different social groups" according to Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

£1.5 (A$3.25) billion is designated for research, and £120 (A$260) million for business and "community engagement" (such as working with business) through the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF).

Of the research funding £199 (A$431) million is earmarked for postgraduate research.

The Guardian reports: "Although the Russell group of large research-intensive universities have lost out on money for widening participation, they have done well overall. The "golden diamond" universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester and University College London are among the top five for overall funding levels."

This despite the suggestion in some quarters that unless Oxford and Cambridge introduce more outsiders to their governing boards, their public funding would be cut.

According to the chief executive of the funding council, Prof David Eastwood: "The funding will... enable us to continue to sustain and develop a dynamic and internationally competitive sector by supporting high quality research. It will enable the growing links between higher education and businesses to flourish, encouraging economic regeneration and prosperity through innovation and applied research, [and] it will also foster the wider social roles of universities through public and community engagement."

The British government's universities secretary, John Denham made the point that "by 2011, funding for higher education will have increased by over 30% in real terms since 1997."

However, not all of the sector is content. In early September, the Labour Government instructed the HEFCE to withdraw institutional funding for ELQ students - those studying for an equivalent or lower level qualification. Under the proposed changes, universities would not receive funding for UK/EU students who are studying at a level equivalent to or below that of a qualification they hold already, even though other UK/EU students on the same course would continue to be funded. For example, the decision will have a significant effect on students who wish to undertake studies for the purposes of being retrained but the course of study would not lead to what would be designated a higher qualification.

Institutions such as Birkbeck, University of London foresee marked funding cuts. Currently one-third of Birkbeck's enrollment consists of ELQ students.

Prof David Latchman, master of Birkbeck College, told EducationGuardian.co.uk: "This is the year with the least impact but we're trying to dissect how much we would have got without the ELQ cuts. Widening participation funding is based on Hefce-funded student numbers so we have lost out there too. The way out of this is to recruit more widening participation students rather than to retain them, which is perverse."