As the 31 January deadline for undergraduate degree applications approaches, universities as well as would‑be students have reason to be nervous. Pressure on them is increasing from several sides, with a number running large deficits. Last week an internal memo sent by a senior academic at the University of York appeared to confirm what observers have long suspected: the need for the high fees paid by overseas students is so great that entry requirements are being lowered.
The university denies that this will make it easier for overseas students to get in than domestic ones. But the fact that York, which belongs to the elite Russell Group of research-intensive institutions, is making such changes points to the severity of the sector’s problems. Money worries are not confined to former polytechnics. Higher education finance is a mess.
