UK economic position

The activities of the EU can have a direct effect on Sheffield Hallam with regards to funding and legislation. The EU are trying to closely integrate universities across Europe, aimed at making degrees more readable across Europe. The aim is to have achieved this by 2010, Sheffield Hallam and universities across the UK may have to restructure their degree programmes to comply with this programme. The integration may result in an influx in foreign students; however the number of British students choosing to study outside of the UK may also increase.

The European Union has funded various Higher Education developments in the UK including the Sheffield Hallam Bodycote centre, which is a partnership company that manufactures advanced coatings, developed at Sheffield Hallam’s material research institute for high speed dry cutting and drilling tools. The planned joining of economically poorer countries to the EU this year may affect the level of funding available to UK projects and developments. Local government

The activities of the local government can have various effects on Sheffield Hallam. They are responsible for coordinating various services which would be of great importance to Sheffield Hallam and its student/lecturer population. These services include waste disposal, public transport, planning permission, police service etc. A poor public transport system may cause difficulties for students and lecturers to access the university, and may result in long commuting times, this could deter students from attending Sheffield Hallam.

High council tax rates may deter lecturers from teaching in Sheffield preferring a city with lower rates, as a result Sheffield Universities may have to offer higher rates of pay to attract lecturers. Long delays in the planning permission process could significantly slowdown any new developments undertaken by Sheffield Hallam. Main Opportunities and Threats The ditoriating financial health of the Higher Education sector is to be one of the main threats facing the future of Sheffield Hallam University and the Higher Education sector.

The level of Higher Education debt is increasing each year, a pattern which cannot be allowed to continue. As university debt increases universities will forced to borrow increasingly large sums of money to make ends meet. One solution Sheffield Hallam may adopt to solve the financial crisis is to increase class size, which could affect the quality of education Sheffield Hallam is able to offer students, which could result in its position in the University rankings to drop, which would deter students from applying in the long term.

The introduction of top up fees will also be a threat to the future of Sheffield Hallam. Although the introduction of top up fees will initially result in an influx of students not wanting to pay the full i?? 3000 fee. In the long term top up fees will have a detrimental effect on Sheffield Hallam, with the university possibly choosing to stop running courses which are not seen to be economically viable, reducing the choice of courses for students.

Sheffield Hallam may also struggle to compete in terms of the standard of education they can offer students compared with those universities in the Russell group, who plan on charging the full i?? 3000 fee. European funding is a main opportunity for Sheffield Hallam, The European Regional development fund has helped fund several projects and developments at Sheffield Hallam, including joint programmes between Sheffield Hallam and businesses.

It is important for Sheffield Hallam to continue to attract European investment to continue its modernisation, high tech facilities will help attract students to the university. Also high tech facilities may increase the quality of education Sheffield Hallam can offer its students, especially as it is highly e-learning focused. Due to current uncertainty about the future of Higher Education in the UK, it is important for Sheffield Hallam to closely monitor its external environment so it can minimise the impact of possible threats and so it can take advantage of any opportunities.