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Understand the mechanisms behind the crisis.
Short, accessible explainers designed to produce the “I hadn’t realised that” moment — without reproducing the book.
Where the money comes from
A university has several income streams, and each arrives with different restrictions, risks and costs.
Read the explainer →Why teaching loses money
A high sticker price does not guarantee that the fee covers the cost of providing a degree.
Read the explainer →Why research loses money
Winning more research funding can enlarge the gap an institution must cover from somewhere else.
Read the explainer →The international student cross-subsidy
International fees became a crucial source of unrestricted income across the university system.
Read the explainer →Growth, buildings and debt
Expansion created capacity and opportunity while also increasing fixed costs and financial exposure.
Read the explainer →Regulation and the quasi-market
Universities compete intensely, but they cannot use many of the tools available to ordinary firms.
Read the explainer →Why collaboration is difficult
Shared services and mergers sound obvious, but the system often makes them slow, risky and unattractive.
Read the explainer →What happens when a university fails
Universities can run out of cash, but there is no simple, well-tested route through institutional failure.
Read the explainer →Who caused the crisis?
Responsibility is distributed across policy choices, regulators, governing bodies and institutional strategies.
Read the explainer →What would fix it?
Sustainable reform must address the linked problems of funding, incentives, regulation, collaboration and failure.
Read the explainer →