Strongly agree. The comments sections at the foot of a Times article are a PhD in not knowing what you’re talking about. Often signed off with “Simple.” as well.

Thank **** for that.

Glad you’re on form

This causes three headline problems, those institutions reliant on clearing under recruiting, student experience worsens in the RG and those students in the RG with three CCCs at A level could struggle and drop out entirely - and still owe student loans for no certificate.

Great stuff Glen. Echoes my thoughts as you know. Two to three in mortal danger very soon and may be quietly bailed out pre budget but if there are no answers in the budget, we will need an insolvency regime. The Russell Group trawled through everyone’s nets in clearing.

I don’t think any will be ‘allowed’ to fail pre autumn budget unless they are extremely small and used as justification for a change at the budget.

Agree. I’m sceptical about SPPs though. The ‘buyer’ wants students mid year pre the May SLC payment - ‘seller’ and, importantly, its creditors want that money too. A smart buyer wants money to take on the loss-making provision … from where? And with no insolvency regime creditors have to be paid.

In the event of an insolvency the board / council and exec of a university need to act in interests of their creditors, not their regulator and not always in the interests of students. I think that should be clarified. OfS wants something done which loses money for creditors - what do you do?

When I see the privately owned steel industry bail outs - a much smaller industry employing many fewer people I think there’s a role for the State.

Indeed, and funded in a much more marketised way there. Perhaps the contagion risk is overstated but at the moment Canada and Australia look like better bets. That hurts everyone.

- intl students go elsewhere - which affects everyone and has been borne out in Russell Group clearing behaviour this year.

Possibly but there’s genuine risk to a number of post 92s and 1960s Royal Charter institutions as well. There’s no insolvency regime - there probably should be - Charity Law takes you there anyway - look after your creditors. If there’s a loss of confidence in the sector caused by one failure

And a bad recruitment round for a typical UG degree causes issues for 3 years not just the short term. There’s no doubt that universities need to get better and more commercial - some of the practices are dated, costs aren’t controlled well and heads are in the sand - not all down to that though

I don’t have the list of the ten and I think it’s unfair to speculate but it’s well known OfS have instructed urgent work on 10 institutions on that basis. Sorry, it is successive bad recruitment rounds, lack of access to foreign students, loss making UK students, cost inflation and capped price.

Can I ask why you think this? I can see why HMG would work to prevent it, but 10 institutions have less than 30 days worth of cash, a poor enrolment means that they would have to sell things fast and get their banks to support them, which can slow the inevitable but not prevent it.

It has characteristics of a market - it sells services to the public - but it clearly is not one when the government controls the price. Institutions are running out of cash - what the government does is key - if it’s a market - they need to allow the price to go up. If one goes under we all lose.

The Dowden take down alone will live long in the memory

A small win today. But a first step. Thanks for all the awareness you are generating.