‘Normalise’ annual tuition fee rises, say vice-chancellors

The Westminster government should commit to an inflation-linked uplift in the English tuition fee cap for at least the next three years and seek to “normalise” regular increases in future, Universities UK (UUK) has urged as part of its submission to the coming spending review.

Real-terms decline in direct public funding via the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) should also be addressed by the Treasury, added the sector body.

UUK has outlined its asks as ministers grapple over where limited public spending will be allocated in the all-important exercise, which will set spending for much of the rest of the Parliament and is now due to take place in June.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith has already ruled out any “major reform” of the English system that sees students themselves cover the majority of the costs of their higher education, alongside historically low levels of public investment.

Most believe further increases in fees – after the one “sticking plaster” uplift due at the start of the academic year – are the best universities can hope for in the context of wider economic gloom facing the country.

The UUK document outlines what this could look like. “The inflation-linked uplift to the undergraduate tuition fee cap for 2025-26 should be continued each year for the period of this spending review to ensure the unit of resource available to universities does not continue to diminish,” it says.

“Beyond that, the government should normalise annual inflationary uplifts. While this will not fully address the financial challenges universities currently face, it is an essential step to prevent the situation continuing to deteriorate year on year.”

Student maintenance loans should be uplifted in a similar way and the government should consider bringing back maintenance grants, UUK argues.

Eyeing a way of ensuring more public money is invested into the system, the submission says the SPG, administered by the Office for Students under the direction of the Department for Education, should be uplifted to reflect two key government priorities: growth and opportunity.

This grant – worth £1.5 billion last year – helps universities cover the additional expenses of teaching higher-cost subjects as well as funding specific projects such as degree apprenticeships and widening access initiatives.

UUK says its analysis shows the rate of funding per student for high-cost subject funding fell by 15.3 per cent in real terms between 2018-19 and 2024-25.

This has led to moves such as a reduction in the number of engineering degrees offered since 2019 due to the difficulties covering the costs despite continued student demand.

UUK said that a “well-funded SPG” would allow universities to “sustain vulnerable provision”, giving the example of modern foreign languages degrees that are being cut back by many institutions because of current low enrolments.

More money distributed via the SPG would also allow universities to continue to offer bursaries and student support services that help those “who are most at risk of withdrawing from their studies, including those from underrepresented backgrounds”, UUK highlights.

The other asks in its submission include a “sustained real-terms increase” to quality-related research funding, a reduction in visa costs for highly skilled workers and a removal of the “VAT barrier” that is widely seen as preventing more cost-sharing services among universities.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com