Only the rich will be able to afford to study architecture, Schosa Standing Conference of Heads of Schools of Architecture, warns government
Architecture degrees will become the preserve of the wealthy if the government adopts the Browne review’s recommendations on university finance, heads of schools have warned. The proposal to remove the cap on tuition fees would undo all the work done by institutions and the profession to increase architecture’s diversity, they claim.
A letter in BD, which has been signed by all 42 members of the Standing Conference of Heads of Schools of Architecture (Schosa), argues that architecture students will be among the worst hit by the plans. Former BP boss John Browne’s report, published on Tuesday, covers English universities, and was based on the expectation that next week’s comprehensive spending review will cut the £3.9 billion annual teaching budget for universities by up to 80%.
His recommendations include letting universities charge as much as they like. Students would only start repayments once they earn £21,000. Any debts remaining after 30 years would be written off – five years later than at present. Browne predicted universities would typically charge £7,000 a year because of a sliding scale of government levies. But the length of architecture courses means students could graduate with debts of £50,000 or more.
A furious Kate Heron, head of architecture at the University of Westminster, said: “Architecture will be particularly badly hit because students study for so long, and while we are in recession the opportunity for paid work during their studies will diminish. Architecture is a long course. By the time you qualify, you have other responsibilities – children, partner, property, pension contributions. All these things have started before you start earning a professional salary. It’s not the very poor or the very rich but the great middle class that is being attacked and that’s quite startling.”
She warned that the implications of the Browne review would be “dire” and that fewer people would go into architecture. The more creative youngsters would probably choose not to go to university at all but would find a way in by the back door, she said. But schools would do all they could to adapt, offering more flexible courses, Heron predicted.
Schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also fearful of the impact of government cuts. David McClean, head of the school of architecture at Aberdeen and another of the signatories, said the review threatened to make architectural education “highly exclusive and privileged”.
Robert Mull, head of architecture at London Met, said the Browne report was “only half the picture”. He added: “We need to review the situation once the results of the comprehensive spending review are out next week because they are inextricably linked. And we need to fight for an understanding of the social worth of architecture to a wider community to protect its funding.”
He welcomed Browne’s recommendation that part-time students be eligible for the same funding as full-time students, saying it would allow universities to be inventive with the courses they offer.
RIBA President Ruth Reed said the Browne review would have “serious consequences” for the profession. “Students stand to enter employment with an inordinate financial burden,” she said. “We urge the government to consider the full impact of these recommendations.”
But Caine Crawford, chair of student body Archaos, welcomed the report, saying the current system was unsustainable. He said: “This change in how we are educated is a wake-up call to the RIBA and the profession. If it’s going to cost more to educate architects then we need to earn more to pay it back.”
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