The UK government finally dropped detailed plans for all the upcoming changes to UK universities and tuition fees.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper outlines plenty of changes to the UK higher education system. For instance, maintenance loans are going to work pretty differently. Plus, students will be able to take new qualifications called V-Levels alongside A-Levels.
Here’s a helpful, easy-to-read explanation of the six biggest changes to UK universities and tuition fees, plus how they will actually affect students. Yes, I read a 72-page long government paper so you wouldn’t have to.
1. Tuition fees for UK universities will go up each year
The government has acknowledged “a growing number of higher education providers are facing financial challenges”. Er, they’re not wrong. Even prestigious Russell Group unis have massive deficits, and loads of universities are resorting to cutting hundreds of jobs.
In an attempt to help this situation, the government has decided tuition fees will be going up each year at unis in England. In the 2026/2027 and the 2027/2028 academic years, the undergraduate tuition fee caps for all higher education providers (so not just unis) will go up in line with forecast inflation. When parliament has the time, the government aims to pass legislation that will make these tuition fee caps automatically go up each year.
It’s not clear yet how much tuition fees will go up, as the inflation rate will probably change before 2026. But the BBC estimated that if tuition fees were to increase by the current rate of inflation, they will rise by approximately £400 a year.
The fee caps for foundation years in “classroom-based subjects” will stay the same for the 2026/2027 and the 2027/2028 academic years.
Remember, these changes to tuition fees only apply to unis in England.
2. Unis with ‘low-quality’ teaching will be cheaper
So, at the moment, the Office for Students (OfS) checks up on all the unis every few years, and assigns them different ratings. A lot of students probably aren’t aware of what ratings their unis have. But the Office for Students is about to become way more powerful. Unis will only be able to increase their fees if they pass a “higher quality threshold”. The government hasn’t explained yet exactly how unis will be assessed for this.
3. The number of freshers could be capped at some unis
Many uni students struggle to nab good seats in packed lecture halls
If a uni is getting overcrowded, and the Office for Students worries this is affecting the standard of teaching, then the uni might not be allowed to let as many students in.
The government’s plans explain: “When parliamentary time allows, we will legislate to ensure the Office for Students is able to impose recruitment limits where growth risks poor quality.”
4. Some students will get more financial support
Many UK students struggle to afford the cost of living while they study – particularly the sky-high rents in uni cities.
The government is promising a “a new, flexible student loan model”.
Apparently, the government will introduce “means-tested maintenance grants”. Students from the lower income households will receive extra money to cover the costs of taking Level 4, 5 and 6 courses. That includes foundation courses, but not a panic Master’s degree.
Student halls are rarely cheap
5. It will cost more money for international students to go to uni
Changes are coming to the tuition fees for International students at universities. The new maintenance grants will be funded by a levy on international students at unis in England. The government’s upcoming budget will have more details of how this will actually work.
Plenty of higher education experts are worried about how a levy will impact universities’ finances. Lots of UK unis rely on income from the higher fees which international students already pay. Russell Group unis in particular have loads of international students.
6. Unis will face ‘greater accountability’ for not having enough students from underrepresented backgrounds
The Office for Students is going to regulate “access and participation plans” in a new way.
The paper explains: “There will be greater accountability for providers who are lagging behind in addressing inequalities in access and participation, with the expectation that they rise up to the level of others. For those doing well, there will be reduced bureaucracy and more of a focus on continuous improvement.”
We don’t yet know how this system will work, but it sounds like this could have a big impact on many of the UK’s most famous unis. Several Russell Group unis still have very high proportions of private school students.
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