Higher education finance statistics

After many years of annual increases in increased income and expenditure, more staff and more students, the higher education sector in England (especially) faced a much less certain financial environment from 2012. There was on ongoing fall in income from the public sector, falling numbers of some types of students, particularly those studying part-time, uncertainty about EU students, staff and funding and much less certainty in general about the future make-up and nature of the sector as a whole.

Many of the changes introduced in 2012 are now fully incorporated in into the sector, at least at the aggregate level. The recent Augar Review of post 18 education and funding made a large number of recommendations that would directly affect higher education institutions in England These include:

• a continued freeze on regulated fee income
• a shift in funding from fees to direct Government grants
• linking more funding to the cost and value of courses
• directly linking teaching funding to the number of disadvantaged students
• ending financial support for foundation years.

This note gives a short factual background on changes in income, expenditure and staffing since the sector took its present form in the mid-1990s. It also gives some information on variations between institutions. It includes data on all Higher Education Institutions in the UK.

The following Library notes give information on related topics:

• Changes to higher education funding and student support from 2012/13
• Higher education funding in England
• Higher education student numbers
• Entrants to higher education
• Tuition fee statistics
• HE in England from 2012: Funding and finance

Much of the pre-2017/18 information in this note is taken from the annual Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publications Resources of higher education institutions and its replacement. HE Finance Plus Detailed free information for recent years can be found on the HESA website.

The most recent Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education from Universities UK looks at 10 year trends in the sector and variations between institutions on a number of different indicators. The Office for Students publishes an annual financial assessment of the sector in England. The latest version is Financial sustainability of higher education providers in England.

The following Library notes give information on related topics:

• Changes to higher education funding and student support from 2012/13
• Higher education funding in England
• Entrants to higher education
• Tuition fee statistics
• HE in England from 2012: Student numbers
• HE in England from 2012: Funding and finance

Much of the information in this note is taken from the annual Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publications Resources of higher education institutions and its recent replacements. A limited amount of free information can be found on the HESA website.

The most recent Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education from Universities UK looks at 10 year trends in the sector and variations between institutions on a number of different indicators. The Higher Education Funding Council for England publishes an annual financial assessment of the sector in England. The latest version is Financial results and TRAC outcomes 2014-15, forecasts are given in       Financial health of the higher education sector: 2014-15 to 2017-18 forecasts