Deloitte survey: more universities plan to spend despite continuing uncertainty

An increasing number of higher education finance directors are ready to invest to maintain their competitive position despite the vast majority believing that their institution still faces above normal levels of uncertainty, according to a new survey.
Professional services firm Deloitte said that expansion, and how to fund it, was becoming a "big priority" for the finance directors from 35 higher education institutions (HEIs) it had surveyed for the first time (16-page / 947KB PDF). It plans to repeat the exercise annually and increase the number of respondents, it said.
"Capital expenditure is needed to underpin the expansion of student numbers, support research, meet the demands of the 21st century learning environment and compete in an increasingly global higher education sector," said Julie Mercer, Deloitte's head of education consulting. More...