University of the West of England speaks out about transparency and its spending

Why it's important for all universities to share their financial information with students

In recent years, money and universities have become so intertwined in the student circle that one cannot even be contemplated without the other. Universities receive a huge amount of money from tuition fees, grants and other sources - but where does it go? And how much do they get? After a look through my own university’s website at the University of the West of England (UWE), I couldn’t find much, so started an information request.

To my surprise, the staff I spoke to were very keen to give me all the information they could, showing a transparency I had never anticipated. For some reason, I had always imagined UWE’s finance departments to be a shady bunch that wanted to hide their facts and figures from the light of day. But, within minutes, I had seen everything I could about how they spend our money.

Between 2014 and 2015, UWE’s income was a vast £237.6 million which came from a variety of sources - from investments to research grants - but a huge £171.1 million came in from tuition fees and support grants alone. 49 per cent of this income was then spent on academic services, specifically the faculties themselves and academic support services; clearly spending is going in the right direction.

Keith Hicks, UWE’s director of corporate relations, spoke to the Independent about transparency and university spending. Giving his opinion on whether students know enough about university finances, Mr Hicks said: “University finances certainly aren’t top of mind when it comes to what most students are thinking about. However, it is prominent in the minds of some students, and certainly many parents.

“Often there are areas of misunderstanding. For example, it’s not always understood that universities are not for profit and all monies are reinvested in the university.”

Sharing his thoughts on whether students feel too entitled when it comes to what the university does with its money, Mr Hicks described how students are certainly a key stakeholder and, therefore, “very entitled” to have a view about where the university spends its money.

He said: “Students and parents feel - since the 2012 introduction of full fees - the need to see value for money and, from the university’s perspective, getting the student experience right is our first priority.

“We survey all students [not just NSS final year cohort] and have one of the UK’s largest and paid student representative body to help us get this right.”

With regards to information requests, Mr Hicks highlighted how the institution is increasingly getting requests of this type, something UWE “welcomes” and “very happy to answer in full, providing it is not commercially sensitive.” He added: “More importantly, our finance director has gone on a roadshow to explain university finances since they are quite complex. This helps understanding.”

On the whole, it’s clear to see UWE isn’t holding back with their information, and shares the view that transparency is integral to an ethical university. In fact, they were featured by Hefce as a case study in a list of five universities that were truly transparent when it came to money.

Undoubtedly, much of this will come as a surprise to many. In the Hefce report, it was said that, of 2,400 students surveyed, 40 per cent had been unable to find relevant information about their university’s spending and income. Clearly, this is changing as students shoulder the lion’s share of financial burden - and become expectant of answers about where their money goes.

Twitter: @ReubenNash1