How to invest in universities

The idea that the funding of universities in England can be based on an Oxford-Stanford model is entirely misconceived ( Universities face a funding crisis. To survive they must learn from the US , 8 July). Such a model can only deliver inequity for students according to where they study and ensure that universities which have the most socially inclusive student cohorts have the least funding. This is not a policy which any political party would support for schools. It is startling that it is contemplated as a solution to the funding of UK universities, which have much better outcomes in terms of student success and completion rates than in the US, where the write-off of student loans only on death is also a feature of the system. In a report published with London Economics , million+ has shown how university could be free at the point of study for all undergraduate students in England and how exchequer benefit of up to £1bn a year could be delivered by amendments to a graduate contribution system. However, it is simply not true that all countries are cutting their investment in higher education. Even where they are managing deficit reduction programmes, the UK's competitors, including the US, Germany, France, Australia and China, are investing billions of dollars in universities, additional student numbers and research. The real question is not how universities and students pick up the tab, but why the coalition government, with its commitment to social mobility, continues to see universities and students as a cash-flow problem and not a source of long-term returns to the national exchequer. Pam Tatlow Chief executive, million+