University Briefings (26/02): OfS warns 75% of England’s HE institutions will be in the red, as first breakdown of Britain’s student loan book published

The Office for Students is warning that three quarters of English higher education institutions may be in the red by 2026, with a £3.4bn drop in income forecast for 2025-6.

Tuition fees are set to increase by £285 per academic year from April 2025, but experts are warning that this will not stop the rot, and handing over debt to students is not proving to be an appropriate solution to funding crises. Up to 40% of universities have fewer than 30 days’ worth of cash on hand, according to reports, with recent cuts being implemented at Bangor, the UEA, and Wolverhampton. 

Foreign students looking to stay in the UK without a job after they graduate may face significant challenges under Labour’s new immigration white paper, as they look to decrease migration by imposing stricter regulations on overseas graduates. Grads currently have two years to find a job or can switch to a work visa in lower-skilled professions, to stay in the UK.  

The University of Cambridge has placed fourth in The Times’ new ranking of universities, based on data regarding which graduates pay back the most of their student loan balance.

Cambridge grads, according to the report, pay back 31% of their student debt balances, narrowly ahead of Oxford, paying back 30%.  

The first breakdown of Britain’s student loan book has been published by The Sunday Times. University of West London alumni have a 9% repayment rate, from £1.3bn loaned to its students, compared to 30% from Durham University and 40+% from students completing a degree at Imperial College London. The data suggests there is a large gap in repayment between larger and smaller academic institutions is driving further scrutiny into so-called ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees. 

Edited by Suchir Salhan.