91ÇÑ×Ó

Almost 4,000 courses have closed across UK higher education in the past year, with less selective?universities most affected, according to new figures.?

With elite universities dominating student demand on A-level results day, experts warned that cuts by other institutions could add to a ¡°vicious cycle¡±.

Analysis of almost 45,000 courses in Times Higher Education¡¯s Courses 360 databases found that roughly 3,900 had shut down between 2024-25 and the upcoming academic year.

Of the undergraduate courses at low-tariff universities, 12 per cent have been struck off. This compared with 6 per cent at medium-tariff providers and 5 per cent at high-tariff institutions.

At postgraduate level, elite universities were also less affected (7 per cent). Medium- and low-tariff providers had a much higher proportion of lost courses, with 11 per cent 13 per cent respectively.

Glen O¡¯Hara, professor of modern and contemporary history at Oxford Brookes University, said the incredibly stark difference between low- and high-tariff providers in the data is a ¡°depressing reminder of the breakup of any pretence of a national university system¡± for everyone.

¡°Prospective students who miss their A-level grades by a long way, or who can¡¯t move away from where they¡¯re already based, are going to suffer a great deal from all these course closures,¡± he told 91ÇÑ×Ó. ¡°The damage to the country, as opportunities are closed down and talent wasted, will be on a very large scale.¡±?

The data comes as low-tariff institutions face a record low intake of students through the clearing process.

Paul Ashwin, professor of higher education at Lancaster University, said course closures would be a big concern for the quality of the country¡¯s educational offering and its diversity.

¡°The rhetoric is very much that there's a link between tariff and quality¡­and so if students can trade up in some way, then you can understand why they choose to do that.

¡°Within a kind of quasi-marketised system as we have, there¡¯s no mechanism to address that. The idea is that student choice drives the system, and therefore you¡¯re in danger of the situation exacerbating a vicious circle.¡±

Overall, 47 per cent of the programmes that have ended were at low-tariff universities, 28 per cent at medium-tariff and 25 per cent at high-tariff.

Amy Ross, principal consultant at 91ÇÑ×Ó, said the data reflects a sector in a period of ¡°volatility and transition¡±. She said fewer subject choices will create rightful concern but it also opens up space to direct resource to ¡°developing innovative programmes which respond to changes in student demand¡±.?

¡°Universities are re-evaluating how they can best serve their communities whilst responding to financial pressures ¨C a process that, if conducted in an evidence-based manner, could lead to more agile and sustainable provision.¡±

Almost a fifth of undergraduate agriculture, food and related studies courses closed ¨C the highest proportion at that level. Others most affected were the physical sciences (12 per cent), the social sciences (10 per cent) and biological and sport sciences (10 per cent).

The least affected were medicine and dentistry (2 per cent) and architecture, building and planning (4 per cent).

There were also some revealing differences in the options now available to undergraduate students. While just 2 per cent of language and area studies courses closed at top institutions, 29 per cent?shut?down at low-tariff universities.

More than?a third of the 35 mathematical sciences offerings at low-tariff providers were discontinued ¨C compared with just 4 per cent across the rest of the sector. At postgraduate level, two of the four lower-tariff mathematics courses also closed.

Graeme Atherton, associate pro vice-chancellor for regional engagement at the University of West London and vice-principal of Ruskin College, said figures for mathematics are the most striking, suggesting that students must now attend a higher-tariff university to study it.

He warned that the growing divisions show increasing ¡°dualism by default¡± within UK institutions, adding: ¡°You have one part of the sector with more diverse students, many of which are commuting, working long hours and taking more vocational subjects. In another part you have less diversity, more residential experience and access to more academic subjects.¡±

For postgraduate students, law courses have reduced by 14 per cent and medicine and dentistry courses by 12 per cent.

And a remarkable 47 per cent of postgraduate courses on historical, philosophical and religious studies at lower-tariff providers have closed in the past year.

While the ongoing funding crisis has put significant pressure on universities¡¯ ability to sustain a broad range of programmes, Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of the MillionPlus mission group, said decisions to close or consolidate courses are never taken lightly and involve a range of considerations.

¡°Student demand plays a major role ¨C courses with persistently low enrolment can be difficult to justify, particularly when resources need to be focused where they will have the greatest impact for learners,¡± she added.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com