Fewer University Places

As the new funding changes are introduced, it seems most universities in England will be offering less places to new students.

3 out of 4 universities will be reducing places by up to 10%, according to The Higher Education Funding Council for England. This means 11,000 places could be lost.

However, there will be around 10,000 degree places offered by further education colleges. These colleges will also be introducing more degree courses.

Currently almost half of young people are in higher education. 2012 is the first year that will not show an increase in these figures.

As well as the tuition fee increase which allows universities to charge students up to £9,000 per year, teaching grants are being cut by more than £800 million. A further £1 billion will be cut in 2014.

This means the actual money available in 2012 for teaching funding is £3.8bn, and £1.6bn for research. Oxford and UCL will be the biggest recipients of the funds.