How we regulate financial sustainability within higher education

Students need to be confident that their university or college is financially sustainable. These pages explain how we work with higher education providers to understand their financial position and provide protection for students.

Why we monitor financial sustainability

We monitor the financial sustainability of providers on an ongoing basis to identify those that may be exposed to material financial risks. We undertake our financial monitoring work in a number of ways.

Where we identify that a provider is experiencing financial difficulties, we work with it to understand and assess the extent of the issues.

This may result in further engagement with the provider or, if a provider is at risk of closure, intervention to protect the interests of students.

Current financial context

We know that the higher education sector in England is under significant financial pressure. Providers are operating in a challenging economic environment, and are facing risks to their financial viability and sustainability, including under recruitment of students and increased operating costs.

Without taking steps to address financial risks, our modelling suggests that nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of higher education providers could be in deficit by 2025-26, and 40 per cent could have fewer than 30 days’ liquidity.

To protect the interests of students, we are ramping up our work in this area to increase our understanding and oversight of providers’ financial positions and contexts as they face an increasingly challenging environment.

We are closely monitoring the financial sustainability of providers to identify those that may be at higher levels of financial risk, and working with them to understand and assess the extent of the issues and how these are being addressed.

We will continue our work to intervene with providers that are facing significant financial difficulties, ensuring they take steps to mitigate risks and to support students to continue their studies.