Salford at "Medium Risk"

A report published today by the University and Colleges Union suggests that Salford is at 'Medium Risk' after the implementation of funding changes instigated by the Browne review. 'Medium Risk' of what you might ask? Well, we're not entirely sure - risk of insecurity of income seems to be what the report implies.

And it is true to say that the government decision to withdraw all funding from the Arts and Humanities will hit Salford very hard indeed. Even those 'technical' degrees that Salford offer which might appear to qualify for HEFCE subsidy might not do so, as the government actually have a list of 'approved' degree courses that they are willing to subsidise (and umpteen different ways of teaching Media Studies & Video Technology are unlikely to meet the cut - no pun intended).

So is this medium risk assessment accurate? In our opinion, no. The UCU report only assesses four different criteria, all of which are concerned with income. Salford has an ambitious expenditure programme planned for the coming years, and expensive commitments at MediaCityUK (although they are still refusing, under the Freedom of Information Act, to release details about the cost of the lease they have signed with Peel Holdings).

So 'Medium Risk' might be oversimplifying things. The report also assesses proportion of income gleaned from non-EU domiciled students, and uses a higher percentage as minimising risk. But it fails to take account of government plans to cap and regulate the number of non-EU students that may undertake study here, and to introduce more stringent English Language requirements for those applying. This is likely to introduce fluctuations to an insitution's capacity to recruit non-EU domiciled students.