Universities facing existential crisis

A rally by university union members outside the Scottish Parliament (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

In the February of that year, I’d been elected President of Aberdeen University Students’ Representative Council. It was my first real experience of standing in any kind of election and culminated in me being driven around campus in a rusty vintage Jaguar with my campaign team, all dressed in suits and dark glasses, running alongside like it was an American presidential motorcade.

The fun and theatre of the campaign over, I had to get down to the serious business of representing the student body on the decision making arms of the university – the Academic Senate and the University Court. Aberdeen is one of Scotland’s ancient universities – and as such those committees have existed in one form or another for over 500 years. For a graduate living in a bedsit by Pittodrie Stadium, that was an intimidating prospect.

I was always treated with respect and included in high level discussions about the financial future of the university, which at the time looked decidedly buoyant thanks to sound financial stewardship and a rosy economic outlook across the country. So, I have watched on in some horror as our globally renowned university sector has been brought to its knees. Scottish Liberal Democrat analysis of university accounts and public statements reveals that among the 18 institutions where students can study for degrees in Scotland, seven of them have recorded a deficit in 2024. Dundee University is set to cut 632 jobs in a bid to address a £35 million deficit.

Even the institutions which did not record a deficit last year recorded far smaller surpluses than in previous years. Earlier this week, staff at Edinburgh University voted overwhelmingly in favour of a willingness to strike if the university did not rule out compulsory redundancies. It comes after the institution warned staff of a £140m financial black hole which could result in programmes and schools being closed. It is a bitter blow for staff, students and the city of Edinburgh.

It’s not entirely clear how we got here, but the risk to these institutions is, in some cases, existential. If you’ve heard of the enlightenment you’ll understand that Scotland has been internationally respected for the quality of our higher education for centuries. We are an international learning destination and the research generated by our university institutes leads the world in many fields.

But this is all at risk now. The previous model of relying on income from international students to subsidise domestic students is all but dead thanks to changes in the global economy. Greater geopolitical upheaval could easily send the system over the precipice. As such there is an urgent and inescapable need for cross-party talks on the future of the wider university sector. So far, the SNP have been reluctant to include other parties in this discussion and I think this is a mistake if a sustainable model is to be secured.

We are now past the point where the SNP can just point at Scotland’s lack of tuition fees and declare the conversation about higher education over. I am determined that both free tuition and the sustainability of our higher education institutions be maintained. Now is the time to face up to the financial pressures our universities are under and search for answers.

Alex Cole-Hamilton is Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and MSP for Edinburgh Western