Universities UK responds to OfS annual financial sustainability report

Following publication this morning of the Office for Students' (OfS's) annual financial sustainability report, which shows the financial performance of universities is forecast to decline in 2024-25 for the third consecutive year, Vivienne Stern MBE, Chief Executive of Universities UK, said:

“While deeply sobering, this report from the OfS is unlikely to surprise anyone in the sector, or in Whitehall for that matter.  Falling per-student funding, visa changes which have decreased international enrolments, and a longstanding failure of research grants to cover costs have been creating huge pressures in all four nations of the UK which are now reaching breaking point.

“We know universities are doing everything they can at an individual level to manage costs, and our Efficiency and Transformation Taskforce is supporting efforts to unlock greater efficiencies through further collaborative working. But the scale of the challenge means none of this will be enough without government on the pitch too. To protect our world-leading sector and the jobs, growth and opportunity it provides, we need increased per student funding; stable international student visa policy; and to protect the research funding system.”