Recommendation 17

The Government states that the present £9,535 fees are only worth £5,920 in 2012/13 terms, a reduction of 38%. Future increases in line with inflation will not reverse that historic reduction. We also know that publicly funded teaching for undergraduate home students costs more to deliver than the income received by HE providers, leaving them reliant on cross- subsidies. This means some higher education providers will continue to struggle in the next few years. Independent HE and the British Universities Finance Directors Group both highlighted the vulnerability of smaller and specialist institutions that are heavily dependent on tuition fee income. (Conclusion, Paragraph 103)