Intense competition for graduate jobs means that more than three quarters of employers require at least a 2:1 degree grade, a survey suggests. 

Research from the Higher Education Policy Institute showed that graduate unemployment had risen from 11.1% to 14% - but that it was male graduates in particular who were failing to find jobs.

More students are staying on at Scottish universities rather than dropping out, but institutions here still have some of the worst retention rates in the UK, new figures show.

According to official statistics, 2900 students left university before the end of their first year in 2007-08, some 9.9% of the total.

Read the full article in the Herald

College bosses have warned they might have to turn away more students than ever before.

Linda McTavish, the convener of Scotland`s Colleges Principals Convention, spoke out after details of a £690 million funding package were announced

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Scottish  universities have been fined a total of nearly £1 million for over-recruiting students during the recession.

Four of the country’s higher education institutions have been penalised by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) as a result of the record number of students taking up places in 2009-10.

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A third Scottish university has been hit by Government restrictions on the recruitment of students in subjects seen as vital and beneficial to the economy.

The universities of Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh appeared the worst hit, but now Glasgow University has also admitted it will have to reduce numbers by around 100.

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Headteachers in Scotland are calling for an increase in spending on university places after a huge surge in applicants sparked concerns that tens of thousands of would-be students could be rejected.Applications to higher education institutions have risen by 31 per cent in the past year, to 38,763, according to figures released by the university admissions service UCAS.

Read the full article  published in the Scotsman on the 14th February 2010

Universities have appealed for funding for more undergraduate places after applications hit record highs for the fourth year running.

Many universities recorded overall increases in applications of more than 50 per cent.

Some of the most dramatic rises are explained by the introduction of an earlier application deadline for some art and design courses.  However, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service said there were also signs that the recession was prompting people to apply as they sought to retrain.

Two Scottish Universities, Edinburgh Napier University and Robert Gordon University have the biggest rises in applications compared with 2009 figures. 

Read the full article, published in the THE on the 11th February 2010. 

Graduates of Scottish universities should pay a dedicated tax throughout their working lives to help fund higher education, suggests Bernard King.   

Bernard King, is new convener of Universities Scotland, which represents university principals, said the tax would help maintain competitiveness in the face of tight public finances and any rise in top-up fees in England.  The call comes as Scottish universities are increasingly concerned about whether the existing level of public funding can be maintained in the current spending squeeze.

Read the full article from the Herald which was published on the 10th February 2010.