A 2022 report by the National Audit Office warned of “increased financial pressure in the sector”, and that an increasing number of institutions were reporting financial deficits or at risk of future deficits.
Now, in 2024, many of the factors highlighted by the 2022 report are coming to a head.
Analysis published in January modelled that 80 percent of universities would be in deficit if international recruitment decreased by 20 percentage points, and 27 percent in deficit if it stayed the same.
Several institutions have triggered voluntary redundancy processes and some have cut courses or departments as cost-saving measures – and mutterings of mergers and sharing of back-office functions abound.
At the same time, students are struggling as inflationary rises far outstrip the rise to maintenance loans. All in all, it seems that the system isn’t working well for anyone.
