Filtered by category: HEPI UK, tag: university governance × Clear
Endowment is the missing pillar of university finance
UK universities rely on public grants, tuition fees, and research income, but largely neglect endowments as a funding pillar. Outside Oxford and Cambridge, UK universities hold around £5 billion in endowment assets, generating just 0.3% of sector income. Only 10% of philanthropic income goes to endowments, versus 29% in the US. Experts argue that pooled investment structures, stronger governance, and better fundraising alignment could grow non-Oxbridge endowments from £5 billion to £38 billion over 20 years.
The next university crisis will not be about students using AI
Matched: Artificial Intelligence
Universities have focused AI debates on student use, but the bigger risk is how AI is embedded in institutional operations — recruitment, administration, data and decision-making. With 95% of students already using AI, governance attention must shift. Universities risk becoming AI-dependent without being AI-resilient: lacking visibility over where AI operates, clear accountability, reliable assurance, staff capability to question outputs, and continuity planning for AI failures. Fragmented governance across departments leaves no one owning the whole risk.