Problems of University Expansion in Britain

Abstract

DESPITE the general interest of the report of the University Grants Committee as a record of university development on Great Britain during 1935-47 (seen 104 of this issue), and the picture it gives it he very considerable achievements of British universities both before and during the War, that part of the report which deals with post-war developments and problems is likely to receive most attention. None the less, the greatly increased scope of the activities of the University Grants Committee, to which the whole report bears witness, make it desirable that the early chapters should be read by a much wider public than those who may be immediately affected by the developments or special problems discussed later in the report. The scale on which the universities of Great Britain are now being assisted from national funds makes it imperative that the ordinary citizen should have a clear idea of how those funds are being spent and what the nation is receiving in return. Within its limits the report makes a valuable contribution to that end ; but it may well be held that an increasingly important function of the University Grants Committee in the future will be the interpretation, to the nation as well as to the Government, of the policies and the financial needs of the universities.