English universities need tuition fees of £12,500 to break even, analysis finds

UUK’s draft proposal to address the funding crisis in universities is for fees to increase and for teaching grants from the government to rise. Photograph: Przemyslaw Klos/Alamy

Tuition fees in England would need to rise to £12,500 a year to break even, according to analysis presented to vice-chancellors, amid warnings of the deepening financial crisis facing universities.

But higher education leaders attending the Universities UK (UUK) annual conference were told they would look “out of touch” if they asked for a 35% increase in undergraduate fees from the current level of £9,250, with a UUK taskforce likely to recommend a smaller increase.