Commenting on the OfS’s update to its report on higher education financial sustainability, Robbie Cruikshanks, Senior Researcher, Higher Education at the Education Policy Institute said:
“The Office for Students’ latest analysis further indicates the scale of the financial challenge facing the higher education sector. Without significant mitigation, up to 72 per cent of providers could be operating a deficit by 2025-26, even after accounting for the announced rise in tuition fees from next year.
The government must urgently and transparently set out its plans to ensure the sustainability of higher education to reassure students, providers, and the wider sector. In particular, smaller and lower tariff providers must be sufficiently supported given that they are facing the hardest financial challenges and are more likely to serve the most disadvantaged students.
The government must recognise the important role played by further education in creating an accessible and effective post-18 system. Our recent research has shown that when compared to their higher education counterparts, more further education providers are in deficit, their deficits are larger, and they are less able to meet their debt obligations. Ensuring both FE and HE are financially sustainable in the long term is crucial to meeting growing skills demands in the economy and broadening participation in education and training after age 18.”
