Universities can cope with significant funding cuts by taking advantage of outsourcing services, it has been suggested.
Policy Exchange claimed that by seeking external support from the private sector, overall higher education costs could be reduced by £2.7 billion.
As well as IT, functions such as accommodation, HR and student records could be outsourced to private companies, the thinktank said.
Report author Alex Massey claimed that too many higher education institutions are operating in an outdated way.
“They’ve failed to recognise the savings and service improvements that could be obtained through engagement with commercial partners and the use of shared services,” he claimed.
“With students facing higher levels of debt, it really is time for universities to start taking efficiency and value-for-money seriously.”
Mr Massey claimed that outsourcing and shared service arrangements would be “a very good way” to reduce costs and improve service quality.
A number of city and district councils, including Birmingham, Hertfordshire and Bournemouth have turned to outsourcers to reduce costs since the £81 billion public cuts were announced earlier this year.
Source:http://www.ihotdesk.com/article/800311721/Outsourcing-services-can-fill-the-university-funding-void
