Call to protect outreach work from tuition fee cuts

A group of influential universities and charities have urged the government not to send social mobility “into reverse” and called for the funding review to rule out a student numbers cap if tuition fees are reduced.

On 22 February, the Russell Group of 24 research-intensive universities, along with several social mobility charities including Brightside and The Access Project, warned that any reduction in tuition fees without replacing the lost income could result in universities cutting funding for outreach programmes.

It has been rumoured that the government’s review into post-18 education, led by Philip Augar, could recommend lowering tuition fees for most subjects to £6,500 or £7,500 while raising fees to £13,500 for subjects that traditionally lead to high earnings, such as medicine.