University student intake set to fall by a quarter

Undergraduate recruitment is stable but international student intake is less than half the university's budget targets

The number of new students at the University of Bradford is predicted to fall by 25% compared to last year.

This includes the target for international students which is less than half what was hoped for, with 1,000 fewer taken on for this academic year.

The university has almost hit its target of 2,164 for what it calls "home" undergraduate recruitment, falling 70 short with 2,094 placements.

But staff have been warned in an internal email, seen by the BBC, that savings will have to be made in "staffing and operational costs".

Vice chancellor Shirley Congdon says state funding for universities needs to be reformed

The university is bringing in certain measures immediately, including a freeze on recruitment.

Executive board members have agreed not to take a pay rise for the year 2024/2025 and there will be no further large investments in the campus during this academic year.

A Questions & Answers section in the email from vice chancellor Shirley Congdon also includes the possibility of redundancies and course closures.

There is a staff open meeting on Tuesday where the news will be discussed in more detail.

The university has 1,755 employees - 645 academic and 1,110 professional

In a statement to the BBC, Prof Congdon said: "Tuition fees for home undergraduate courses have not risen substantively since 2012 and no longer cover the cost of delivery.

"It is no secret that in recent years many universities have sought to supplement the cost of these courses by increasing their intake of overseas students.

"Changes to the Graduate Visa Route introduced by the previous government in January 2025 led to predictable falls in income for many universities."

She said the university was among many pressing for funding reform as the current model was "not working for students, universities or taxpayers".

She added: "Higher education is worth billions to the national economy, as highlighted recently by a Universities UK report.

"And yet universities are now being forced to consider making tough decisions due to a lack of funding."

The vice chancellor said that the university, which was involved in Bradford's successful 2025 UK City of Culture bid, had already acted to reduce costs "but more needs to be done".

Recruitment of "home" undergraduate students was just below last year's figure of 2,164

In May the BBC reported how staff at the university were asked to consider if they wanted to leave voluntarily with a pay-off.

This was under a Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme which allows employees, in agreement with their employer, to choose to give up their job in return for a severance payment.

The month before that (April 2024) the university said it planned to make £10m of savings in the coming financial year.

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