Vice-Chancellor’s Oration discusses higher education funding

University 05 Oct 10 Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, has stressed the importance of investment in higher education during the annual Vice-Chancellor's Oration. Professor Hamilton said: 'It may come as a relief to hear that I intend to resist the temptation this morning to offer a detailed statistical analysis of comparative levels of national investment in higher education. It is a sad fact, however, that the most recent figures put the share of our own national GDP at below the OECD average. 'This seems to me to be quite inadequate and seriously ill-advised given that higher education is one of the most important investments in the future that a country can make. It is an observation that holds true in my mind whatever the government of the day and with or without an economic downturn.' Professor Hamilton said the full cost of teaching an undergraduate is estimated at about £16,000 per year, which means that when you subtract the contribution made by current tuition fees and public funding, the annual deficit per UK undergraduate in every year of their Oxford career is about £8,000. 'Oxford research can stand comparison with the best in the world and a large part of the University's international standing is built upon it,' he said. 'In recent times there has been eye-catching growth in Oxford's research activity, in terms of both staff and income.