Schools report: 'Universities must work even closer together'.

Byline: EDITED BY MOIRA SHARKEY

UNIVERSITIES need to work even closer together to save money and make themselves more attractive to students during the current economic crisis, the Auditor General for Wales has ruled today.

Jeremy Colman said more needs to be done to support better partnerships between universities.

The Welsh Assembly Government has had a policy of support for mergers. One of the biggest mergers involved Cardiff University and the University of Wales College of Medicine in 2004.

In total WAG has provided more than pounds 38m from its Reconfiguration and Collaboration Fund to support 25 higher education projects.

In his report published today, Mr Colman makes a series of recommendations to encourage more collaboration, including calling on the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) which manages the fund to broaden the criteria of projects the fund can support to include ventures with organisations outside the higher education sector.

Summing up, Mr Colman said: "There is strength in effective collaboration and the Welsh higher education sector needs to do more of it to achieve the Assembly Government's aims. The sector as a whole is still off the mark in terms of realising all the potential benefits.

"The current economic climate is likely to strengthen the case for effective collaboration, and the Assembly Government and HEFCW need to overcome the barriers to collaboration that still exist."