Universities urged to reveal where the money goes

Universities have been urged to reveal their spending in greater detail. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Universities are being urged to provide students with detailed breakdowns of how tuition fees and other income gets spent to allay concerns that money is being wasted.

Universities UK (UUK) is calling on higher education institutions to publish “value-for-money statements” about how they spend their income, with universities in England under particular pressure to demonstrate that their degrees are worth the £9,250 annual fees.

A survey earlier this year found that 67 per cent of students in Scotland, 76 per cent in England, 72 per cent in Wales and 73 per cent in Northern Ireland feel that their university does not provide enough information on its spending. To improve transparency, UUK will shortly be publishing guidance recommending that universities put value for money statements in their prospectuses, detailing where they get their income from and how it is spent.