Scottish universities face funding cuts

In the wake of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), 'nearly a third of Scotland's universities will see their total funding cut in real terms for 2009-10' reports the THES.

In comparison with England which saw a 4 per cent cash increase and a 2 per cent real-terms rise when inflation was included, in Scotland, total funding increased 3.4 per cent in cash terms, equating to 1.4 per cent including inflation. This news comes after the Scottish Funding Council announced how the £1.14 billion allocated by the Scottish Government would be spread across 20 universities in 2009-10.

Stirling and Strathclyde have seen the biggest decrease in funding with falls of 1.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively. This is 'despite receiving special moderation funding funding of £1.5 million and £1.3 million to soften the cuts' reports THES. The University of Dundee, Queen Margaret University and Glasgow Caledonian University have all seen below-inflation rises.

Within these allocation to Universities, some science areas fared better than others: Community-based medicine rose 102 per cent, physical sciences rose 31.5 per cent, hospital and laboratory medicine rose 30 per cent, while funding for biological sciences fell 19 per cent.

Read the THES article in full.

Oxford University's scientific output analysed

THES is reporting that Dr Bruce Charlton from Newcastle University has found that the scientific output of Oxford University has more in common with the University of Minnesota that Harvard.

The number of times Oxford researchers were cited by their peers, the number of highly cited academics at the university and the number of Nobel prizes its staff have won were all taken into account. Dr Charlton acknowledges that, "People will argue that these are crude measures, but I can't think of any better ones." Dr Charlton also said that 'Rather than being encouraged to tackle tough problems where the risk of failure is high, the best of Oxford's scientists are being pressured to undertake easier, short-term research'. Although this ethos could be linked to the RAE, as this type of research has a higher chance of receiving funding, one Oxford scientist believes that 'the cause may be less the RAE than the practices of the research councils in choosing which research to fund. They tend to fund research they feel is sure to succeed in a three-year timescale.'

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=400169

The cash carrot gathers support

The Guardian is reporting that the Liberal Democrats are also considering whether incentives should be offered to students taking subjects such as maths and physics at university after a recommendation made by the CBI, which wants £1000-a-year "cash carrot" bursaries.

Stephen Williams, the party's schools spokesperson said, "The fall in the number of pupils studying science at school is having a knock on effect in universities, where prestigious science departments are [closing] because of a lack of students".

http://education.guardian.co.uk/alevels/story/0,,2149674,00.html

Biological science courses see increase in applications

The THES is today reporting that applications for biological science courses (full-time undergraduate) have risen 31.3% compared with 2006. This equates to 2816 more applications. Other subjects which have also seen an increase include complementary medicine, evoking strong opinions from some academics. Professor Colquhoun (University College London) has said he is "appalled" by the development. "These courses are basically anti-science. Universities that run them should be ashamed of themselves, they are cashing in on people's wishful thinking when there is no evidence that complementary medicine works". Celia Bell - from Middlesex University, which runs courses in Western and Chinese medicine - said "There are now millions of people seeking complementary medicine treatments, and we have to ensure that the practitioners are safe and competent and properly trained".