Echoes of London Met’s last crisis

Chris Cook

Financial Times

31 August 2012

PA’s Mike Boxall, higher education expert, is quoted in the Financial Times. Mike gives his view on the UK Border Agency’s decision to revoke London Metropolitan University’s status as a “highly trusted sponsor” for visas, and what difficulties this presents for the university. 

The article talks about a previous crisis London Met faced. In 2008, the Higher Education Funding Council for England demanded it repaid £36.5m after finding it had been claiming funding for students who had not completed their courses. Following this crisis the university appointed a new vice-chancellor, Malcolm Gillies.

Mike says: “Malcolm Gillies has been brave. He has done all that he can within the conventional university model to turn it round – cutting back the portfolio of courses, reducing staff costs and outsourcing – but the legacy he took on was awful.”

You can read the article in full here.

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