Two in five UK universities are open to or are actively considering acquisitions and mergers with other institutions, according to research.
A Universities UK (UUK) survey of its members found that financial pressures are leading to significant cuts across the sector, with 79 per cent of institutions pursuing voluntary redundancies.
Similarly, of the 48 universities that responded to the survey, 79 per cent have implemented hiring freezes or paused staff recruitment in the past three years.
Changes to courses are also “widespread”, UUK said, with just under half of universities reporting having reduced their course offering through consolidation (46 per cent) or course closures (44 per cent) over the past three years.
Institutions are also considering larger-scale structural changes in response to the financial crisis gripping the sector, with about 40 per cent saying they were open to or actively considering acquisitions or mergers with other universities in the future.
