Morning, Friday, 14th November 2025
Online
This conference will focus on the financial sustainability, resilience, and stability of the UK higher education sector - looking at immediate priorities alongside longer-term strategic and policy options for sustainable funding models.
It will bring together stakeholders, regulators and policymakers to examine the issues in the context of sector-wide pressures. Options for addressing rising costs, income volatility, and structural risk will be examined. We expect discussion to reflect on recent analysis from the Office for Students around increased sector-wide financial stress and the number of providers at risk of insolvency.
Delegates will discuss opportunities arising from increased research and development funding announced in the 2025 Spending Review and Immigration White Paper for institutional finances and strategic planning, as well as the potential impact of the forthcoming Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, expected this year.
Areas for discussion include options for reform of tuition fee and maintenance systems, such as indexation and targeted grant support, and how these can align with wider priorities around public funding, access, and regional provision. Delegates will also consider how to sustain strategically important teaching and research, and examine the financial and strategic implications of international student recruitment, including approaches to diversification, compliance, and maintaining the UK’s global competitiveness.
Further planned sessions will consider how financial regulation is evolving in response to heightened risk, including expectations for oversight and recovery, and the role of the OfS. Alternative income streams - such as spinouts, transnational education, and short courses - will also be discussed, including the frameworks needed to support and scale them, and how they fit within broader strategies for institutional resilience and diversification. Related priorities include securing funding for high-cost teaching and research, and strengthening governance and regulation to support long-term resilience.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, further areas for discussion include:
- long-term funding frameworks: approaches to balancing public and private contributions - managing demand, and addressing financial disparities across disciplines
- tuition and maintenance reform: potential for indexation, targeted grants, and other funding adjustments - support for access, participation, and progression
- international student income and strategy: assessing institutional exposure to policy shifts - compliance, diversification, and brand positioning
- support for high-cost and strategic provision: funding models for sustaining vulnerable subjects - considerations for productivity, innovation, and workforce development
- regulatory oversight and intervention: the future scope and coordination of financial regulation - triggers for support - expectations for providers
- institutional diversification and resilience: enabling the growth of commercial and international income streams - improving capability - considerations for governance
- alignment with broader sector priorities: sustaining autonomy - goals for sustainability, accountability, and long-term global positioning
