High Educ (2011) 62:649–663 DOI 10.1007/s10734-011-9411-5

How many universities are there in the United Kingdom? How many should there be? Malcolm Tight

Published online: 27 March 2011  Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Abstract While the first of the questions posed in the title of this article may seem to involve a simple matter of enumeration, it is more complex than that, as the number of institutions in the United Kingdom that perform at least some of the functions of a university has grown significantly in recent years. The answer given (for the end of the year 2010) is 108, 138 or 162, depending upon the definitions adopted. The second question involves more judgement, and is explored comparatively—both within the United Kingdom and internationally—geographically, economically and historically. Keywords Universities
Higher education institutions
United Kingdom
Historical development
Massification

Introduction How many universities are there in the United Kingdom? How many should there be? These are, on the face of it, straightforward questions; and, while the latter clearly requires some kind of value judgement, the former should be a simple matter of enumeration. But, in reality, neither question is straightforward, which is what makes them worth considering in some depth. Indeed, in order to answer the questions as posed, we need to first briefly consider another one: what is a university? The answer to that has both particular meanings for the United Kingdom—more than one of them, as there are at least two main university ‘traditions’ represented within the United Kingdom—and internationally. Rather than getting deep into the extensive literature on the idea and nature of the university (see, for example: Kerr 2001; Rothblatt 1997; Smith and Langslow 1999; Tapper and Salter 1992), however, I shall take a more legalistic approach. Once this preliminary question has been addressed, we will move on to the question of enumeration, and then to the judgement about the number of universities we should have— M. Tight (&) Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YL, UK e-mail: [email protected]

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which involves some comparative analysis, and consideration of economic, geographical and historical perspectives—before reaching some conclusions.

What is the meaning of a university? The Oxford English Dictionary gives two main meanings of the term ‘university’, illustrating how this has changed over time: Originally, a corporation of teachers and students formed for the purpose of giving and receiving instruction in a fixed range of subjects at a level beyond that provided at school. Later, an institution of higher education, offering courses and research facilities in mainly non-vocational subjects and having acknowledged powers and privileges, especially that of conferring degrees. (The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 1993, p. 3493) Neither definition has quite the precision one might want, with the latter, more contemporary, version leaving open the distinction between a university and a ‘mere’ institution of higher education, as well as the extent of the ‘acknowledged powers and privileges’. Approaching the issue from the perspective of governance, and writing at a time shortly after the 1960s expansion, but before that of the 1990s, Moodie and Eustace (1974) emphasise independence, autonomy and corporate status. They also, in a carefully qualified and heavily footnoted presentation, acknowledge the differential role of Acts of Parliament, Royal Charters and the Privy Council in the recognition of universities: The universities in the United Kingdom are autonomous institutions. They are, without exception, independent corporations, able to own property, to sue and be sued, and to regulate their own affairs within the wide powers granted to them by the instruments of their incorporation. A few of the instruments are Acts of Parliament whose operative part is a set of statutes, but the characteristic instrument is a Royal Charter, granted through the Privy Council, also with a set of statutes similar to those under an Act. (p. 45) Since then, of course, there has been a great deal of further development, and the position has become somewhat more complicated as the government has tinkered with the criteria for awarding university status. Farrington and Palfreyman (2006, pp. 6–7) note that the current legal definition of higher education, or rather of ‘fundable’ higher education, specifies particular kinds and levels of course. Currently, the award of university status ‘requires the achievement of the 4,000 minimum number of students following higher education courses’ (p. 18), but has been granted in some cases to institutions with only taught degree awarding powers (though those in this position typically also aspire to research degree awarding powers). The current law on the use of the term ‘university’ is thus framed in terms of gaining approval by the recognised authorities: a relevant institution… shall not use a name which includes the word ‘university’, unless the inclusion of that word in the name is authorized by or by virtue of any Act or Royal Charter or is approved by the Privy Council… In exercising this power the Privy Council is advised by the relevant government department which in turn is advised by the Degree Awarding Powers Committee of the Quality Assurance Agency. (p. 23)

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How many universities are there in the United Kingdom? There are over 150 higher education institutions in the UK that are permitted to award a wide variety of degrees to suit most educational aspirations. All these institutions have degree awarding powers recognised by the UK authorities (UK and Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies). (http://www.dcsf.gov. uk/recognisedukdegrees/index.cfm—accessed 2/10/10) That imprecise statement can be found on the website of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, but it is couched in terms of higher education institutions rather than universities. Table 1 offers a more precise, but initial, answer to the question posed in the first part of the title, listing UK universities by their date of foundation. It indicates that there were only 10 universities in the whole of the United Kingdom by the end of the nineteenth century, and that this number had only risen to 17 in 1926 and 24 by 1958. While the total nearly doubled, to 47, by the end of the 1960s, it remained—due to the pursuit of the ‘binary’ policy, with the university sector ‘balanced’ by a polytechnics and colleges sector—at roughly that level for more than 20 years. With the designation of the polytechnics and major colleges as universities in 1992, the number almost doubled again overnight, to 86. A few more were then recognised in the remainder of the 1990s and the first part of the 2000s; with a further burst of expansion from 2005 onwards. By the end of 2010, therefore, there were a grand total of 108 universities in the United Kingdom. But, as the number of footnotes to Table 1 suggests, this is a rather carefully qualified answer. And, as indicated, it only lists multi-faculty (in the British sense of that term: i.e. those that offer a broad range of disciplines) institutions. We will consider three main qualifications, or additions to this list, in attempting to provide a fuller answer to the question. These relate to the federal universities, other institutions of university status, and to other institutions with degree-awarding powers (note that these distinctions are not hard and fast, and historically have been rather fluid). Two further sub-sections will then review higher education in further education and new institutional foundations, the major sources for future additional universities. Federal universities Table 1 counts federal university systems as single universities. The federal university— where a range of higher education institutions (small and large, single and multi-faculty) are gathered together under the umbrella of a single institution—has a long history in the United Kingdom, and in its former colonies, as well as parallels in other systems internationally (Bell and Tight 1993; Rothblatt 1987; Tight 2009). In the UK, two major federal universities remain—London and Wales—though the future of both is subject to internal pressure (Pritchard 1994). Thus, as Table 1 records, Imperial College left the University of London in 2007 to become a free-standing university in its own right, while the University of Cardiff severed its ties with the University of Wales in 2004. Despite these recent departures, however, the universities of London and Wales both remain substantial organisations. Thus, in the case of London, there are seven multi-faculty component colleges (or ‘schools’, as they are somewhat confusingly referred to within the federation), which would be more than capable of standing on their own as independent universities: Birkbeck, Goldsmiths’, King’s, the London School of Economics, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway and University College. Each of these has a long history and

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Table 1 Universities by date of foundation Date

No. Universities

Universities founded

Pre-1900

10

Aberdeen, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Londona, Manchester, Oxford, St Andrews, Wales

1900

11

Birmingham

1903

12

Liverpool

1904

13

Leeds

1905

14

Sheffield

1908

15

Belfast

1909

16

Bristol

1926

17

Reading

1948

18

Nottingham

1952

19

Southampton

1954

20

Hull

1955

22

Exeter, UMISTb

1957

23

Leicester

1958

24

Sussex

1960

26

East Anglia, York

1961

30

Essex, Kent, Lancaster, Warwick

1962

31

Keele

1963

32

Newcastlec

1964

34

Stirling, Strathclyde

1965

35

New Ulster

1966

43

Aston, Bath, Bradford, Brunel, City, Heriot-Watt, Loughborough, Surrey

1967

45

Dundeed, Salford

1969

47

Cranfield, Open

1983

48

Buckinghame

1984

48

Ulsterf

1992

86

Anglia Ruskin, Birmingham City, Bournemouth, Brighton, Central Lancashire, Coventry, De Montfort, Derby, East London, Edinburgh Napier, Glamorgan, Greenwich, Hertfordshire, Huddersfield, Kingston, Leeds Metropolitan, Lincoln, Liverpool John Moores, London Guildhallg, London Metropolitan, London South Bank, Manchester Metropolitan, Middlesex, Northumbria, Nottingham Trent, Oxford Brookes, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Robert Gordon, Sheffield Hallam, Staffordshire, Sunderland, Teesside, West London, West of England, West of Scotland, Westminster, Wolverhampton

1993

89

Bedfordshire, Glasgow Caledonian, London Arts

1994

90

Abertay Dundee

2001

91

Gloucestershire

2002

90

London Guildhall and London Metropolitan amalgamate

2004

90

Cardiff separates from University of Wales. Manchester and UMIST re-amalgamate

2005

101

Bath Spa, Bolton, Canterbury Christ Church, Chester, Chichester, Liverpool Hope, Northampton, Roehampton, Southampton Solent, Winchester, Worcester

2006

103

Edge Hill, York St John

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Table 1 continued Date

No. Universities

Universities founded

2007

107

Buckinghamshire New, Cumbria, Queen Margaret.

2008

108

Creative Arts

Imperial College separates from University of London

Only multi-faculty institutions have been included in this table University names have changed in some cases: their current names are used in this table The second column reflects both increases and reductions (through the amalgamation of existing universities) in the total number of universities a

For convenience, the separate component parts of the universities of London and Wales are not listed here

b

UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) re-amalgamated with the University of Manchester in 2004

c

Formerly part of Durham

d

Formerly part of St Andrews

e

The only private university based in England

f Established through amalgamation of New University of Ulster (established 1965) and former Ulster Polytechnic g

Merged with London Metropolitan University in 2002

typically ranks highly in university league tables (very highly in the cases of the London School of Economics and University College). In addition, there are another eleven single faculty colleges or institutes within the University of London (see Table 2). These are of varying sizes, with some small and highly specialised, and others of ‘medium’ size—e.g. the Royal Veterinary College, School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, School of Oriental & African Studies and School of Pharmacy—each of them national and international leaders in their field. Until recently, there were also several independent medical schools or colleges within the University of London, but all but one of these—St George’s—have now been amalgamated with existing multi-faculty colleges (Harte 1986). The University of Wales, for its part, still contains three sizeable and long-established, multi-faculty institutions—Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea—plus another even older but rather smaller one at Lampeter and Carmarthen, where St David’s College has recently amalgamated with Trinity College (Morgan 1997). Four other institutions—the Cardiff Institute, Glyndwr (in Wrexham), Newport and Swansea Metropolitan—have recently been upgraded and admitted to the federation. Interestingly, as Table 2 indicates, most of these institutions have adopted the title of ‘university’, while the component parts of the University of London remain titled as colleges, institutes or schools, with, in a number of cases, the identifier ‘University of London’ added for good measure. So, if each of the component parts of the universities of London and Wales just listed— all of which now have their own degree-awarding powers—were to be recognised as ‘universities’, the total number in the United Kingdom would rise from 108 to 133 (note: the latter figure has been reduced by two so as not to double-count the federal universities). Other institutions of university status Second, there are a handful of independent, specialist—typically small and single-faculty—institutions that enjoy university status in their own right (see Table 3). Of the five

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654 Table 2 Federal universities

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Component parts of the University of London Birkbeck College Institute of Cancer Research Central School of Speech and Drama Courtauld Institute of Art Institute of Education Goldsmiths’ College, University of London Heythrop College, University of London King’s College London London Business School London School of Economics and Political Science London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine School of Oriental and African Studies School of Pharmacy Queen Mary, University of London Royal Academy of Music Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Veterinary College St George’s Hospital Medical School University College London Component parts of the University of Wales Aberystwyth University Bangor University Glyndwr University Swansea University Swansea Metropolitan University

Source: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/ recognisedukdegrees (accessed 2/10/10); Tight 2009, pp. 52–53

University of Wales Institute, Cardiff University of Wales Newport University of Wales Trinity St David

listed, four are conservatoire-type institutions, focusing on varied combinations of music, art, drama and dance. Two of these are located in London (and formerly had links with the University of London), and all four, as their names indicate, have enjoyed royal patronage. Each of them has a long history and a substantial, international reputation, enabling them to survive as independent institutions. The fifth institution listed, the UHI Millennium Institute—a dispersed institution organising higher education opportunities throughout the highlands and islands of Scotland—is well on its way to attaining independent university status. This aspiration is reflected in the acronym that forms part of its name, standing for the University of the Highlands and Islands. It already awards its own undergraduate degrees, and is seeking approval to award its own postgraduate and research degrees (a position that some of the most recently designated universities listed in Table 1 are also in: the borderline of university status is clearly not that distinct). Adding these five institutions in would raise the grand total of UK universities up to 138.

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High Educ (2011) 62:649–663 Table 3 Other institutions of university status

655

Royal College of Art Royal College of Music

Source: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/ recognisedukdegrees (accessed 2/10/10) Table 4 Other institutions with degree-awarding powers

Royal Northern College of Music Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama UHI Millennium Institute

University colleges University College Birmingham Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln Arts University College at Bournemouth University College Falmouth Harper Adams University College Newman University College Norwich University College of the Arts University College Plymouth, St Mark and St John Royal Agricultural College St Mary’s University College Other recognised degree awarding bodies Archbishop of Canterbury Ashridge Trust BPP College of Professional Studies College of Law Bodies which can award Degrees unique to them Association of Clinical Biochemists Benchers of the Honorable Society of the Inns of Court of Northern Ireland Inns of Court Institute of Biology Institute of Food Science and Technology Richmond, the American International University Royal College of Pathologists

Source: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/ recognisedukdegrees (accessed 2/10/10)

Royal College of Physicians Royal Horticultural Society Royal Society of Chemistry

Other institutions with degree-awarding powers Third, while not of university status, there are a series of other institutions which also have some degree-awarding powers (though some of these may be exercised in association with universities). Table 4 distinguishes three different types: university colleges, other degreeawarding bodies and bodies which can award degrees unique to them. Ten of the 24 institutions listed in Table 4 title themselves as university colleges or simply colleges. While these are not—at least at the time of writing—currently universities, they exercise some of their functions, and, in the present climate, are well on the way to becoming independent universities in their own right.

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Table 4 also lists another four bodies with degree-awarding powers. This list is something of an odd mixture. Thus, it includes one body (literally)—the Archbishop of Canterbury—whose degree-awarding powers go back further than those of all but five UK universities: to 1533, when they were ‘inherited’ from the Pope. The Archbishop has the power to award degrees in divinity, law, arts, medicine and music; and the Church of England stresses that these are ‘real’ rather than honorary degrees, which have to be earned. The other three bodies in this list—Ashridge, BPP, the College of Law—recently gained degree-awarding powers, and focus on business or law. Then there are another ten bodies which can award degrees unique to them, in many cases in collaboration with each other. Two of them are Inns of Court: in England (which can award the splendidly titled ‘Degree of the Utter Bar’) and Northern Ireland. Seven others are also disciplinary or professional bodies, variously termed associations, colleges, institutions or societies. The other body listed is the UK branch of an American university, which is unique—to date—in being able to grant UK degrees (though other foreign universities, from the US and elsewhere, also teach in the UK, this is for their own degrees). Adding these institutions indicates that there are as many as 162 organisations in the United Kingdom which exercise at least some degree-awarding powers, and may, therefore, be considered as being, at least to some extent, universities. Higher education in further education But this is not the end of the matter, for there are many more institutions in the United Kingdom at which degrees, or parts of degrees, can be studied. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills helpfully provides a list of these institutions, in all 602 of them (http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/recognisedukdegrees—accessed 2/10/10), which it refers to as ‘listed bodies’. It is a somewhat curious list. Alongside all of the component colleges of the universities of Cambridge, Durham and Oxford, and the institutes of the University of London, are listed a varied range of further education colleges, professional bodies, charities and private sector institutions. They include, for example, Christie’s (the auction house) Education Ltd, the Metanoia Institute, the Nazarene Theological College, Persona Development and Training and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). While these educational operations are mostly small-scale, and very specialised, when compared to the universities and university colleges, taken together they provide a minor, but significant, proportion of UK degree provision. If past and recent trends continue, some of these listed bodies, particularly the larger further education colleges, are likely to graduate to university college and/or university status in the future. New institutional foundations That this is likely was confirmed by the former Labour government’s announcement of its desire to fund the development of around 20 new higher education centres in places not currently well served by existing institutions. While these were not described as universities or university colleges, and might well involve collaboration with or between existing institutions, the eventual development of some into universities or university colleges would be expected. The early indications are that the new Coalition government, elected in 2010, will also take a liberal view on the development of new higher education institutions, providing that significant public funding is not required.

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So how many universities are there? Having complicated and qualified the discussion in this way, it is time to return to the original question. As will be apparent, there are a number of different possible answers which we might give. The simplest answer is, of course, the first one: there are 108 institutions which have the right to call themselves universities in the United Kingdom. A second answer would add in the major component parts of the federal universities of London and Wales, and a number of other bodies which, though they do not style themselves ‘university’, are of university status, and conclude that there were 138 universities in the UK. A third, more inclusive, answer, would add in the university colleges and other bodies that have the right to award their own degrees, and return a total of 162 universities.

How many universities should there be in the United Kingdom? The second question posed in the title of this article implies, or requires, a number of judgements: for example, how many students should there be within the university system, how large should universities be and how much diversity in university organisation should be allowed for? It also requires a view to be taken on the difference and relationship between universities and higher education. We will approach the underlying question, therefore, from four related perspectives: • comparatively, both in terms of the component ‘nations’ within the United Kingdom (cf. Raffe et al. 2001) and internationally; • economically, in terms of economies of scale; • geographically, in terms of the desirable spread of universities throughout the country; and • historically, in terms of how the system has looked in the past. Comparative Table 5 details the distribution of universities, and other higher education institutions exercising at least some elements of university status, within the four component ‘nations’ of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish higher education systems are clearly significantly smaller than that in England, and they also show variations in institutional organisation. Thus, both the Scottish and Northern Irish systems are dominated by the recognised universities, while the Welsh system is dominated by the component institutions of the University of Wales. Table 6 relates these institutional patterns to both the underlying population and to the overall numbers of students studying in each ‘nation’. While no great differences are apparent, England seems slightly under-provided for in terms of numbers of both institutions and students, even though some of the universities, particularly the Open University, and some of the other degree awarding bodies, included in the English total might be said to be truly national (i.e. UK bodies) rather than English in their orientation. Scotland, by comparison, appears over-provided for. This, of course, ignores the movement of students between the component ‘nations’; though, in this respect, the Scottish system— which recruits undergraduates a year earlier than elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and puts them through a four, rather than three, year first degree—is the most distinctive and

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Table 5 Universities by national region National region

1

England

89

Scotland

14

Wales

3

Northern Ireland

2

United Kingdom

108

2

3

4

5

Total

19

3

10

13

133

2

16

8 27

10 5

10

1

3

14

162

The total column is two less than the sum of columns 1–5, so as not to double-count the two federal universities 1. Universities (from Table 1) 2. Component Parts of Federal Universities (from Table 2) 3. Other Institutions of University Status (from Table 3) 4. University Colleges with Degree-Awarding Powers (from Table 4) 5. Other Institutions with Degree Awarding Powers (from Table 4) Table 6 Proportions of population, students and universities by national region National region

Population (%)

Students (%)

1

Universities (from Table 5: %) 1?2?3

1?2?3?4?5 133 (82)

England

51,809,700 (84)

2,052,380 (83)

89 (82)

110 (80)

Scotland

5,194,000 (8)

215,635 (9)

14 (13)

16 (12)

16 (10)

Wales

2,993,300 (5)

148,930 (6)

3 (3)

10 (7)

10 (6)

Northern Ireland

1,788,900 (3)

48,240 (2)

2 (2)

2 (1)

3 (2)

United Kingdom

61,792,000 (100)

2,465,185 (100)

108 (100)

138 (100)

162 (100)

Population data—mid 2009 estimates—from www.statistics.gov.uk (accessed 2/10/10) Student data—for the 2008/09 academic year—from www.hesa.ac.uk (accessed 2/10/10)

thus ‘insulated’ of the four (a distinctive that has been further enhanced by the different student funding regimes introduced in the last decade). This pattern of relative over-provision of higher education in Scotland is confirmed if the number of students in each ‘nation’ is expressed as a percentage of the total population. While this is not the usual way in which participation rates are calculated—which has normally been done by reference to the ‘young adult’ age group for whom higher education provision has historically been intended—it does take into account the modern focus on mature student participation and lifelong education. The figures provided in Table 6 indicate that 4.0% of the UK population are students (a minority of these are, of course, from other countries, and thus not resident in the UK). England, as by far the largest component part of the UK, records the same proportion, 4.0%, but in Scotland the figure is 4.2%. The proportion for Wales is, however, even higher at 5.0%, while that for Northern Ireland is well below average, at only 2.7%. Of course, some of the students in Wales (actually quite a lot of them) are English, and vice versa, and so on for each of the other ‘national’ pairings, but the point being made is about the distribution of study opportunities. Similar patterns are apparent if the average number of students per institution is calculated. Thus, with a total of 2,465,185 students and 162 ‘universities’ (this assumes, of course, that no other institutions are involved in providing higher education; which, as we

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have seen, is not the case, but this does not matter greatly for the present discussion) in the United Kingdom, on average each ‘university’ has 15,217 students enrolled. The figure for England alone (15,431) is, again, close to this average, as is the figure for Wales (14,893). By comparison, Scotland (13,477) has, on average, smaller universities, while Northern Ireland (16,080) has larger ones. The UK average of 15,217 per university or higher education institution masks, however, a huge variation in size. Thus, the Open University, by far the largest higher education institution in terms of student numbers, recorded a total of 193,835 in 2008/09, while the smallest, the Courtauld Institute of Art (part of the University of London), had only 425 (www.hesa.ac.uk—accessed 2/10/10). Comparing the patterns in the United Kingdom as a whole with other countries shows, naturally enough, greater disparities. Two kinds of countries have been selected for such comparisons here: English-speaking nations which inherited some of their higher education practices from the UK (Australia, Canada, the United States), and other western European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain) that are similar to the UK in terms of size and development. International comparisons of this kind raise significant issues regarding the comparability and interpretation of data (including, for example, the varying proportion of international students in different national systems). In order to minimise these issues, I have relied chiefly on two key sources: the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD: http://stats.oecd.org—accessed 2/10/10) for data on population and student numbers; and the World Higher Education Database Online (www.whed-online. com—accessed 2/10/10) for information on numbers of higher education institutions (see Table 7). The latter are probably subject to more interpretation than the former: where two or more figures for the number of higher education institutions are given in Table 7, the Table 7 Population, number of tertiary students and universities, selected countries Country

Population

Students (% population)

Universities (average students)

Australia

21,431,781

1,117,804 (5.2)

39 (28,662)

Canada

32,927,372

1,422,790 (4.3)

95 (14,978)

France

63,753,140

2,164,538 (3.4)

85 (25,465) 314 (6,893)

Germany

82,217,837

2,245,138 (2.7)

86 (26,106) 180 (12,473) 323 (6,951)

Italy

59,619,290

2,013,856 (3.4)

77 (26,154) 87 (23,148)

Spain

45,283,259

1,781,019 (3.9)

74 (24,068) 101 (17,634)

United Kingdom

61,179,260

2,329,494 (3.8)

108 (21,569) 138 (16,880) 162 (14,380)

United States

304,846,731

18,248,128 (6.0)

4352 (4,193)

Sources: For population and student numbers (2008 data): http://stats.oecd.org (accessed 3/10/10) For university numbers: www.whed-online.com (accessed 30/6/10); www.nces.ed.gov (accessed 3/10/10); www.aucc.ca (accessed 3/10/10); www.deewr.gov.au (accessed 3/10/10) See also Table 6

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lowest refers to named universities only, while the higher figures include other kinds of higher education institution as well. The figures in Table 7 suggest that the pattern of students and higher education institutions in the United Kingdom is not so divergent from that in its European neighbours, but rather more so from the patterns in North America and Australia (which also differ from each other). Thus, according to the OECD statistics, the number of students as a proportion of the population is 3.8% in the UK, compared to just 2.7% in Germany, 3.4% in France and Italy, and 3.9% in Spain. This proportion rises, however, to 4.3% in Canada, 5.2% in Australia and 6.0% in the United States (differences in the age distribution of the population will have an impact here, of course). So, if the participation rates in the UK were to continue to rise to match those in the United States, both larger and a greater number of higher education institutions would probably be required. Focusing just on named universities, while Table 7 indicates that there are 21,569 students per university in the UK, the figures for France (25,465), Germany (26,106), Italy (26,154) and Australia (28,662) are all rather higher, while that for Canada (14,978) is notably lower. Taking all higher education institutions into account, of course, reduces these figures. While the UK figure falls to 14,380, those for France (6,893), Germany (6,951) and the United States (4,193) are much lower, indicating an acceptance, or at least a tolerance, of much smaller sized higher education institutions (and thus greater institutional diversity) within those systems. Economics We have already noted that, in the UK, the award of university status ‘requires the achievement of the 4,000 minimum number of students following higher education courses’ (Farrington and Palfreyman 2006, p. 18), a position which is effectively a (fairly arbitrary) judgement on minimum desired scale. Economists have long had an interest in economies of scale, the idea that it may be more efficient, and cheaper by the unit, to produce items in larger numbers, as well as the related idea of economies of scope, which are the ‘cost savings which result from the sharing of inputs, including knowledge, across the processes used in the production of different, but related, product lines’ (Morris 2008, p. 333). The application of these concepts, originally developed in industry, to higher education (e.g. Johnes et al. 2008) is, however, complicated by the multiple ‘products’ produced by a typical higher education institution: i.e. teaching (at different levels and in different subjects), research and consultancy, engagement with industry and community, etc. Depending on the particular techniques used in their estimation, plentiful opportunities can typically be found to exploit economies of scale and scope, suggesting that—in economic terms—it would usually make more sense to expand existing universities as needed rather than establish new ones. The latter approach would also, of course, necessitate substantial start-up costs, though that might also be the case in existing universities when the capacity of a given site was reached. A strictly economic view on the issue of ‘how many universities should there be?’ is not always (indeed, arguably, is only rarely) taken, however, not least because of the conflicting demands of politics and geography. Geography From a geographical perspective, we might argue that there should be enough universities in the UK to enable everyone reasonable access. Physical distance is clearly of particular

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importance for those studying part-time, but substantial (indeed, increasing) numbers of full-time students—including both mature students with family responsibilities and those younger students who choose not to leave the parental home to study, thereby keeping the costs of doing so to a minimum—also opt to enrol at a local institution. This would suggest that there should be sufficient universities to allow a reasonable spread throughout the country, with more than one institution in major cities to allow a degree of choice. Arguably, we are already in that position, so there would not be strong pressures for the creation of many additional universities to equalise access. Thus, a recent study confined to England found that there were only five out of 45 counties (Northumberland, Somerset, Suffolk, Warwickshire and Wiltshire) that lacked a higher education institution, but in each case there were either adjacent institutions in neighbouring counties, branch campuses of universities or local colleges offering higher education programmes (Tight 2007). Similarly, there were only four urban areas with populations in excess of 200,000 (Barnsley, Birkenhead, Blackpool and Southend) without their own higher education institution, but again these are either in reach of other institutions or have colleges offering some degree opportunities. From a geographical perspective, therefore, other than perhaps filling in a few remaining gaps in the higher education map, concerns would centre on ensuring that existing universities and institutions of higher education offered a reasonable range of opportunities in terms of subject, level and mode. The issue would then be not so much about how many universities, but rather about the mix of kinds of institutions within a given area. History Historically, as Table 1 shows, the number of universities in the UK has grown over time, not steadily but in a series of bursts (notably in the 1900s, 1960s, 1990s and 2000s). The number of universities and other higher education institutions in existence at any particular time was a reflection, initially, of what the market would bear, and, latterly and increasingly, of what national policy judged was needed (Tight 2009). Thus, up until the nineteenth century, England was content with just two universities, both sited in small cities, while Scotland had four (or five until the two Aberdeen institutions amalgamated). The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw the establishment by local interests of universities in all of the major cities in the UK. In the post-war period, further universities were chiefly created by, and then largely funded by, the state. What Table 1 does not indicate is the size of the universities listed. In general, as well as increasing in numbers, universities have also expanded in size over time. The figures quoted in Tables 6 and 7 suggest an average size for a UK higher education institution at the present time of around 14,000–15,000 students. In historical terms, for the UK, this is a large institution. Thus, if we look at the statistics for 1948, when the UK university system was enjoying a post-war boom in student numbers, only one UK university had more students than this, and that was London, with its 25,087 enrolments spread over a large number of colleges, schools and institutes. In that year, Birmingham University had just 3,456 students, Manchester 5,058 and Edinburgh 6,700 (Tight 1991, p. 12). Even by the 1960s, when the creation of the then new campus universities was underway, the University Grants Committee (UGC), the body then responsible for distributing state funds to the universities, was still thinking in terms of universities which would be considered tiny in present terms: ‘these new universities were to accommodate not less than 3,000 students, and some might even rise to 7,000 or 8,000’ (UGC 1964,

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p. 99). Even the Robbins Committee, chaired by an economist, and which recommended both the expansion of existing universities and the creation of new ones (already then underway) in order to meet anticipated demand, only went so far as to argue that ‘many of the multi-faculty universities of this country should expand to accommodate 8,000 or even 10,000 students’ (Committee on Higher Education 1963, p. 154). From a historical perspective, therefore, the UK has been able to cope in times past with many fewer and much smaller universities. And while, at different times, there have been plenty of people who have argued for the expansion of higher education opportunities, there have also been many who have argued that higher education institutions—whether they were thinking in terms of universities, their component colleges or other free-standing higher education institutions—should not be allowed to grow beyond a certain ‘ideal’ size: a size that allowed the maintenance of a community in which staff and students could get to know each other.

Some conclusions The most obvious conclusion to this discussion is that the two questions posed in the title of this article—How many universities are there in the United Kingdom? How many should there be?—are different in nature. Thus, even recognising that what constitutes a university, or institution of higher education, is capable of varied definitions, it is relatively straightforward, though revealing, to enumerate them when a definition has been agreed. The second question, however, begs a good deal of contextual, and somewhat conflicting, discussion before it can be answered. On the face of it, there would seem to be sufficient universities in the United Kingdom to satisfy the basic requirements of access, and this situation would not be changed greatly if a few more were created (or if a few went out of business). Three other related issues, therefore, seem to be of greater importance at the present time. First, there is the question of how large universities should be. Is there an ideal size, or more likely size range, which both meets the needs to (partially) exploit economies of scale and scope, but also satisfies the wishes of both academics and students to enjoy the benefits of some kind of community of learning? There are, of course, different ways to meet the latter desire, almost certainly in most cases at the sub-institutional, though not necessarily departmental, level. Second, there is the issue of institutional diversity. Clearly, as we have seen, UK higher education institutions already vary a good deal in their size and focus (in terms of discipline, level and modes of study offered for example), though the higher education landscape might also be said to be dominated by a large number of multi-faculty universities of around average size (but differing status). Such diversity is widely held to be a good thing, and the UK is believed to be more diverse than many comparable systems (Huisman et al. 2007), but can it be ensured at the local level? Third, and relatedly, does it matter if the notion of what constitutes a university, or an institution of higher education, varies significantly between countries? Two major pressures here are the policy towards alignment of higher education practices, expressed through the Bologna process, within the European Union, and the more general trend towards the internationalisation of higher education, with an associated concern for quality and standards. How all of this plays out over the next decade or so—with major cuts in state funding underway in the UK, and particularly in England, with the potential compensation, for

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higher education institutions, of greatly increased student fees—will be very interesting to observe.

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