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HE funding - IFS report

This article was previously published on the Leadership Foundation website.

An Institute for Fiscal Studies’ (IFS) report, part funded by Universities UK, into the new tuition fee regime in England has found the impact on the longer-term public finances is highly uncertain. The report finds that the expected savings from the introduction of the new system are very sensitive to what happens to graduate earnings and repayment behaviour. It further confirms that the cost to the public finances will rise if either fee levels or student numbers increase. The report suggests the key outcome arising from the new system is to replace the certain costs of teaching grants, with the uncertain costs of providing student loans.

An overview and summary of the findings of the IFS can be found in the press release which accompanies publication of the report.

On the same day as the (IFS) published its report, Universities UK announced it was setting up a student funding panel to look at the design of the current fee and loan system in England, with a view to making recommendations about its future development.

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