NCUB welcomes the Government’s increase in the undergraduate tuition fee cap, announced today. It is an important step toward addressing the university funding challenges, that are seriously threatening the sustainability and impact of UK universities.
Responding to the inflationary increase in the undergraduate tuition fee cap for English higher education providers, Dr Joe Marshall, Chief Executive of the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB), said: “Universities are critical to the UK’s economic growth ambitions. The strength of our universities is a real UK advantage that is seriously threatened by the urgent funding sustainability challenge they are facing. We warmly welcome the inflationary increase in the undergraduate tuition fee cap for English higher education providers, announced today. The announcement details a fee rise from £9,250 to £9,535 from April 2025. This will go some way in helping to meet this challenge.”
Marshall continued: “However, we know that to effectively plug the financial hole our nation’s universities are facing, more action is needed. Universities are the foundation of the UK’s research and development system, performing and producing research, creating skills for the future, and facilitating knowledge exchange between academia, industry, and civil society. We are already very concerned about the prospect of increased employer National Insurance contributions announced in the Budget last week, which will significantly raise staffing costs for universities, by £372 million a year. Without proper funding, the whole system is facing crisis.”
Marshall concluded: “While this increase may provide some immediate financial support, it’s critical that we don’t overlook the impact on students, especially those from lower socio-economic background, who are hugely impacted by cost-of-living pressures. These pressures could discourage students from pursuing higher education, which would limit the number of graduates with advanced qualifications – a risk to the future skills pipeline and to university income in the long term. To offset this risk, we welcome the Government’s introduction of more generous maintenance loans to ensure that higher education remains accessible to all.”
