Society of Biology responds to HEFCE review of the teaching funding method
Released on 16 July 2010
The Society has welcomed the opportunity to respond to HEFCE’s consultation on key principles and features of the funding method, and stressed a number of key points:
- The higher education sector will be significantly affected by overall cuts in funding. In this context it is vital that there is adequate support for teaching within the sciences, including biology, where costs are justifiably high.
- Clear understanding and recognition of the costs of delivering high quality programmes is needed. It is vital that quality is not compromised. We believe that an explicit link between quality of provision and funding incentives is important. In the current proposals there is very little reference to quality, whereas in the past, HEFCE has supported improvements in teaching quality and it would be a significantly retrograde step should these no longer be encouraged. This is particularly relevant given the need for the sector to retain its strong international position and economic importance.
- Institutional autonomy has contributed a great deal to the education sector over many years, fostering and facilitating innovation. We would not wish to see any significant erosion of this capacity for independence.
The full response can be accessed here.
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