THE majority of staff at Scottish universities are poised to reject independence in the referendum, a new survey shows.
The poll of more than 1000 academics and administrators by Times Higher Education found "No" voters held a 13.6 percentage- point lead over "Yes" voters.
Nearly 55 per cent of those asked said they supported Scotland staying in the Union while 41 per cent backed independence. The remainder were undecided.
However, the survey, which was conducted last month, reveals academic staff are deeply split by discipline over how they will vote on September 18.
Those working in the field of science were far more likely to vote No than those in the arts and humanities, with greater concern amongst scientists and engineers about the future of UK-wide grants to fund their research.
There were also striking differences between universities, with 60 per cent of academics at Glasgow University intending to vote Yes compared to just 23 per cent at Dundee University. St Andrews University and Edinburgh University were also pro-Union, with only about one- third intending to vote for independence. At Aberdeen University, staff were more likely to vote "Yes" than average, despite a high number of those polled having science and engineering backgrounds.
The poll also showed that those backing independence were not always sure it was in the best interests of the university sector.
Although the majority of Yes voters thought independence would be the best outcome, one- quarter thought it would not make any difference or were not sure, and a handful said universities would be better off in the UK.
By contrast, No voters were much more convinced, with 96 per cent saying that remaining in the UK would be the best option for Scotland's institutions.
Fears about losing access to UK-wide sources of research funding loomed large in responses from those planning to vote No.
However, many Yes voters want independence to escape what they see as an undesirable, market-driven higher education culture emanating from England.
James Naismith, Bishop Wardlaw professor of chemical biology at St Andrews University and a member of the pro-Union Academics Together, said he believed opinion on campus against independence had hardened, despite growing support for it elsewhere.
"The majority of academics discern that, even under the most optimistic scenarios, independence will harm universities," he said.
However, Murray Pittock, professor of English literature at Glasgow University and a leader of the pro-independence group Academics for Yes, argued that the survey lead for No was not as large as would be expected for a group drawn from the top social classes who, as polls have shown, are more likely to be pro-Union.
He also claimed that opinion on the ground at universities was swinging towards the Yes campaign.
Murdo Macdonald, professor in the history of Scottish art at Dundee, believes the "overriding reason" for voting Yes is to "resist the American-style marketisation of higher education driven from south of the Border".
He said: "It is ironic that Scotland is now the remaining representative of the post-war British consensus with the respect to the importance of free education."
The survey was based on 1,058 responses from staff at Scottish universities in an online survey conducted between August 7 and 26.
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