As the academic year in Britain limps to a close, universities look more broke than a student after a summer of Interrailing. The Office for Students, a regulator, reckons that four in ten universities are running deficits. Half have closed courses to save money, according to a poll of 60 institutions by Universities UK (UUK), an industry group. Durham has shed 200 staff; Newcastle a similar number. Unions allege that a cost-saving plan announced by Lancaster could see close to one in five of its academics lose their job.
