In a submission to a consultation on higher education funding, Russell Group universities have asserted that undergraduates are costing universities £1,750 per student as tuition fees and grants don’t fully cover degree costs.
The ‘research-intensive’ universities – including University College London and the University of Manchester – have also pointed out that this figure could soon double without government intervention.
As it stands, the government plans to ‘freeze’ university tuition fees at £9,250 per annum until 2024, meaning that this £1,750 deficit could reach a loss of £4,000 per student by this stage, according to the Russell Group.
‘The pressure on funding for teaching will grow’
Chief executive of the Russell Group, Tim Bradshaw, told the Guardian that this funding ‘gap’ could drastically affect the ‘skills pipeline’ in the UK. Bradshaw said: ‘We understand the challenges government faces in balancing the public finances, so we welcome recent investment in high-cost subjects and capital funding.
‘However, with tuition fees frozen for another two years and costs and student demand rising, the pressure on funding for teaching will grow.’
He added: ‘Universities will continue to work hard and find ways of reducing that pressure so they can provide the best possible student experience, but if unaddressed over the long term this will inevitably affect the range and quality of courses that can be offered to students at a time when we need a breadth of high-level skills to drive a sustainable recovery.’
‘Foundation courses are vital’
The Russell Group has also criticised government plans to cut fees for foundation-year courses to £5,500, the same price charged by colleges. The group has suggested that these proposals could affect the number of students taking on science and engineering-based courses, stating: ‘Foundation-year courses are vital in helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds or those who may have just missed out on entry requirements get into high-quality courses and go on to high-skilled jobs.’
With courses like engineering and medicine particularly expensive to run, the Russell Group opposes the government plans as the lower tuition fee could mean that universities would have to foot the bill to keep up university-level training facilities, staff, and pastoral care.