Summer Budget

08 July 2015

Responding to Chancellor’s Budget speech, Director General of the Russell Group, Dr Wendy Piatt, said:

“We welcome the announcement that from 2017-18 tuition fees will increase in line with inflation for universities that provide excellent teaching.

“Russell Group universities are committed to providing an outstanding student experience but since 2012 inflation has eaten into the value of funding available. Next year, £9,000 tuition fees will be worth only £8,200 in 2012 terms and universities are already having to do more with less. Good teaching and world-class facilities require proper investment and indexing the fees cap to inflation is a crucial step towards the long-term sustainability of the UK’s leading universities.

“However, it is vital that appropriate measures are used to judge teaching excellence, without adding to the regulatory burden on universities or stifling innovation. We look forward to engaging with the Government and other key stakeholders on the Teaching Excellence Framework consultation.”

Notes to Editors

1. The 2014 National Student Survey showed:
2. Our 2014 publication, A Passion for Learning, set out the ways in which Russell Group universities are working hard to provide excellent teaching and support for students.
   • 87% of students are satisfied with the quality of their university course across Russell Group universities, compared with 86% across universities in the UK. 
   • 89% of students at Russell Group universities are satisfied with the teaching on their course, compared to a sector-wide average of 87%.
   • 90% of students at Russell Group universities found their course intellectually stimulating.
3. According to the QS World University Rankings 2014, 10 of the top 30 universities in the world, as ranked by employers, are Russell Group universities.
4. The Russell Group report Opening Doors examines the root causes of under-representation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and gives examples of what Russell Group universities are doing to help tackle the problem. More and more disadvantaged students are studying at Russell Group universities. Young people from the most disadvantaged areas in 2014 were around 40 per cent more likely to enter a leading university than three years ago. More than a third of our students receive a bursary or scholarship.  In 2015-16, the 20 Russell Group universities in England alone will be investing £234 million in scholarships, fee waivers, bursaries and outreach activities aimed at the most disadvantaged – with additional investments being made across the devolved administrations.