Lower-ranked UK universities fight to fill places after drop in overseas applicants

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The UK’s lower-ranked universities are battling to fill places after a decline in overseas applicants led to more competition to secure domestic students, hundreds of thousands of whom received their A-level results on Thursday.

UCAS, the university admissions service, said 123,130 domestic students had accepted places from autumn 2024 at the lowest tier of universities — a 1.4 per cent fall compared with last year. The number of UK applicants accepted to the top-ranking institutions increased 9.3 per cent from last year to 127,210.

The figures come amid mounting concern over the financial stability of parts of the higher education sector, which is now fighting to make up for a shortfall in higher-paying international students. The sector as a whole expects to grow domestic recruits by 11 per cent over the next three years, leading to fiercer competition among lower-ranked universities.

Some 341,710 students took A-levels this year, up 1.9 per cent compared with 2023, according to the Joint Council for Qualifications, which speaks for examination bodies.

Data from exam regulator Ofqual showed standards held steady, with the share of A*s, the top grade, rising to 9.3 per cent from 8.9 per cent in 2023 and the pass rate remaining relatively stable at just over 97 per cent.

A-level grading returned to pre-pandemic levels in England last year after three years of Covid-related grade inflation, and this year maths remained the most popular subject with more than 100,000 entries for the first time.

There were also more than 250,000 results for vocational and technical qualifications including BTecs, of which 7,300 were T-Level qualifications. They were introduced in 2020 by the last Conservative government but have suffered from low take-up and high dropout rates.

The future of the qualification, which further education college heads say needs to be slimmed down, will be considered in a review of the curriculum that has been ordered by the new Labour government.

A rise in UK admissions to higher-ranking universities has followed a sharp decline in international recruitment after changes to visa rules last year and hostile rhetoric around student immigration from the previous Conservative government.

The competition to attract domestic students, who pay a maximum of £9,250 a year, is expected to add to pressure on some lower-ranked universities, many of which are already under financial strain.

The sector is struggling to cope with the fallout from a near 50 per cent fall in applications from overseas postgraduate students last year. They typically pay £20,000-£30,000 a year and have become a vital source of income. 

University leaders have warned that a handful of institutions are on the brink of bankruptcy and have called on ministers to take steps to stabilise the sector, where domestic tuition fees have been in effect frozen for the past decade. 

With higher-ranked universities able to attract domestic students more easily, the sector has warned that lower-ranked institutions risk being squeezed in the rush to secure acceptances from as many domestic students as possible.

Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of MillionPlus, which represents former polytechnics and vocational colleges that became universities in 1992, said simply encouraging more international students back to study in the UK would still not address the sector’s structural financial challenges.

“While mitigating falls in international student numbers will go some way to help to stabilise finances, it will not be a magic bullet for an unsustainable funding model. Finding one is imperative, so we would urge the government to urgently establish a task force to this end,” she said.

Hewitt added that preserving post-1992 institutions, which often serve less advantaged communities and student population, was also vital for preserving “the pipeline of skills our economy and public services need”.

Addressing Britain’s “skills gap” and fixing “broken” public services are a key part of the government’s five growth missions. But education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said the government has “no plans” to increase fees and has ruled out financial bailouts for insolvent universities. 

Meanwhile, the Office for Students, the sector regulator, has offered a contract of up to £4mn for professional services firms to help restructure or liquidate in anticipation of possible insolvencies. 

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, the main sector lobby group, said universities were already taking steps to balance their books. She said more than 50 were making cuts and redundancies but that all were facing factors beyond their control.

UUK has called on ministers to allow the £9,250 tuition fee to rise with inflation, improve maintenance support for students and provide “transformation funding” to enable struggling universities to restructure. 

“University leaders and government must work together to ensure one of the UK’s greatest assets can continue to deliver for the country,” she said.