Meeting of the Parliament 03 June 2015
I want to briefly share a couple of facts on what universities and the Government have achieved by working together. We know that the number of Scotland-domiciled first degree university entrants has risen and that 57 per cent of those students are female. In the time available, it is difficult to tell the whole story of the collective success of our universities, but it is clear that Scottish universities have a world-class reputation for research, because 77 per cent of their research was assessed as “world-leading” or “internationally excellent” in the 2014 research excellence framework.
I look forward to the rest of the debate.
I move amendment S4M-13313.2, to leave out from “dependent on” to end and insert:
“linked strongly to their longstanding ability to attract both students and staff of the highest quality, their international competitiveness, their ability to act with versatility to take advantage of opportunities for the institution and the fact that they are autonomous institutions; further believes that autonomy should not, in the words of Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, the Principal of Robert Gordon University and author of the Report of the Review of Higher Education Governance in Scotland, which was published in 2012, ‘shield them from legitimate expectations that they engage with staff, students and external partners, or from the need to behave in an accountable manner’; agrees that access to university should be based on the ability to learn not the ability to pay; recognises the commitment that the Scottish Government has made to higher education, investing over £4 billion in the sector in the last four years, enabling universities to lever in money from other sources and helping Scotland maintain its reputation as a leading nation in higher education; calls for the restoration of the post-study work visa and continued membership of the European Union to ensure that universities continue to flourish, and looks forward to ongoing collaboration with Scotland’s world-renowned universities to support their continued success.”
14:59Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.