Augar’s fee proposals damaging for research funding, say peers

The Augar review’s failure to assess the potential impact of its recommendations on how research is funded has led to a “distorted” view of higher education’s financial health, according to a House of Lords report.

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee says that cutting the maximum annual tuition fee for home students from £9,250 to £7,500—as recommended by Philip Augar’s review of post-18 education funding, published in May—could have “significant unintended consequences” for research activity, which is often subsidised by fee income.

“By concentrating on student education and making only a passing reference to research and development, the terms of reference of the Augar review did not take a holistic approach to the funding of universities,” the committee says in a report published on 8 August.