According to UCAS, applicants accepted by providers for full-time undergraduate study remained level in the autumn 2022 cycle. Within the headline figure, accepted applicants from the UK fell by half a percent and EU numbers slumped by over a quarter. By contrast, acceptances for applicants from outside the EU (and UK) rose strongly (+15 per cent).
In 2022/23, growth in non-EU acceptances has been fuelled by strong overseas demand for UK qualifications from taught postgraduate (PGT) programmes. This follows similarly rapid increases in international PGT numbers for the two preceding cycles.
UCAS acceptance figures are not equivalent to registered student numbers. However, in the absence of available HESA data on actual student numbers for the current year, they are a strong indicator that the upward trend in PGT recruitment has not only continued in 2022/23, but accelerated, as Covid restrictions have fallen away.
In June 2022, the Public Accounts Committee reported that the number of universities with budget deficits continued to rise – the figure for the 2021/22 financial year stood at 80. This trend is largely attributable to the declining value of home tuition fees relative to rapidly rising inflation. In 2021/22, funding for teaching was 78 per cent below the 2010/11 figure in real terms. Further erosion is anticipated as the maximum tuition fee level is set to remain frozen until at least 2024/25.
