Wales reveals its take on ‘core and margin’ funding system

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales is introducing a ‘core and margin’ system for allocating student places that could see all institutions except Cardiff lose student places unless they drop tuition fees to below £7,500 by 2013-14.

Around 50 per cent of undergraduate places will be top-sliced from across institutions—around 12,000 places. Around half of these will be reallocated to institutions that successfully meet the Welsh Assembly Government’s requirements on spinout companies, overseas recruitment, research income and total income.