TO BE PUBLISHED November 2025
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This conference will focus on the financial sustainability, resilience, and stability of the UK higher education sector, looking at immediate priorities alongside longer-term options for funding models.
It will bring together stakeholders, regulators and policymakers to examine issues in the context of sector-wide pressures, with the anticipated publication in the autumn of a government White Paper on post-16 education and skills, which is expected to outline the next phase of higher education funding reform.
Tuition fees & accessibility
Those attending will consider options for reform of the tuition fee and maintenance systems following the 3.1% rise at the start of the coming academic year. Delegates will assess challenges for implementing reform in a way that supports widening participation commitments and addresses regional disparities, without placing undue financial burden on learners or providers.
Revenue & costs
Options for addressing rising costs will be examined, looking at income volatility driven by fluctuations in domestic and international student recruitment and research funding, and structural risks such as dependence on narrow income streams and demographic shifts.
We expect discussion to draw on analysis from the Office for Students, which indicated heightened financial stress across the sector and a growing number of providers at risk of insolvency. Delegates will explore implications of these pressures for access to university, quality, and research capacity, considering how the sector can maintain stability amid evolving challenges.
Alternative income streams will be discussed, and how they fit within broader strategies for institutional resilience and diversification. Attendees will explore governance arrangements, investment priorities, and capability development required to grow these income streams sustainably. Barriers and enablers institutions face in commercialisation and expanding international partnerships will also be discussed, as well as priorities for securing funding for high-cost teaching and research.
Funding, growth & international students
Sessions in the agenda will examine opportunities arising from increased research and development funding announced in the 2025 Spending Review, and priorities set out in both the UK’s Industrial Strategy and Immigration White Paper for university finances and strategic planning. Delegates will also consider how to sustain strategically important teaching and research, and examine the financial and strategic implications of international student recruitment. They will also assess institutional exposure to policy shifts and evolving compliance requirements in line with the Immigration White Paper.
There will be discussion on how universities can adapt to tightening immigration controls and shifting international demand whilst reducing reliance on international students for income streams.
Alignment, coordination & collaboration
Discussion will consider priorities for aligning financial and strategic planning with broader sector goals, including sustaining institutional autonomy, enhancing accountability, and securing long-term global positioning. Attendees will consider how universities can navigate tensions between innovation, sustainability, and public accountability, and approaches in ensuring the sector remains competitive, resilient, and capable of meeting the evolving needs of students, employers, and society.
Regulatory framework
Further sessions will consider how financial regulation is evolving in response to heightened risk, including expectations for oversight and recovery, and strengthening governance to support long-term resilience, as well as priorities for the Office for Students.
Delegates will consider new regulatory triggers for intervention, enhanced coordination between oversight bodies, and balancing early support mechanisms with preserving institutional autonomy and innovation capacity. The adequacy of current regulatory frameworks to manage systemic financial risks and protect students and taxpayers will also be assessed.
Overall areas for discussion
- regulatory developments: expectations for oversight and recovery - triggers for intervention - coordination between bodies - adequacy of frameworks to manage systemic financial risk
- tuition and maintenance reform: indexation - targeted grant support - approaches that sustain widening participation and address regional disparities
- managing rising costs and income volatility: staffing, infrastructure and technology expenses - fluctuations in student recruitment - structural risks from demographic shifts - implications for access, quality, and research capacity
- diversification of income streams: spin-outs - transnational education - short courses - frameworks, governance and investment priorities needed for sustainable growth
- commercialisation and partnerships: barriers and enablers - priorities for securing funding for high-cost teaching and research - expansion of international collaboration
- research and development funding: impact of increased investment - prioritisation and allocation of resources within institutions - alignment of decisions with national growth, innovation, and productivity priorities
- international student recruitment: compliance with immigration rules and visa requirements - proposed international student levy - strategies for managing shifting international demand while sustaining competitiveness
- strategic and financial planning: sustaining autonomy - enhancing accountability - securing long-term global positioning of UK universities
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those due to attend include officials from the Department for Education; Department for Business and Trade; Department for the Economy, NI; and The Scottish Government.
