Universities hit by a cut in funding

Virtually every university in the country will see its funding cut for the new academic year in September, official figures out today reveal.

The University of Wolverhampton will have its money from the government reduced by just under £3.5 million, from £54,267,983 to £50,769,000 — a drop of 6.4 per cent.

The move has prompted a warning by the university's vice-chancellor Caroline Gipps that as a result there will be an "inevitable" rise in tuition fees next year.

Elsewhere, Staffordshire University will receive £450,000 less, down from £50,422,211 to £49,955,000, which is a less than one per cent reduction.

Newer universities that focus more on teaching than research and some specialist institutions will be the hardest hit, data published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England reveals.

Colleges across the region will also see their funding drop by thousands of pounds.

Walsall College will get £182,601 less from September, with its funding falling by 15.2 per cent from £1,205,252 to £1,022,651.

A total of £11,471 will be cut from Dudley College's funding next year, from £792,471 down to £781,000 — a drop of 1.4 per cent.

Halesowen College will have £1,066 cut from this year's funding of £46,722, a reduction of two per cent. Sandwell College, however, will get 4.2 per cent more — up to £74,000 from £71,018.

Stourbridge College is also to get more money with its funding rising from £110,708 to £114,000, an increase of three per cent.

Even the most prestigious universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, will see their funding cut.

Prof Gipps said: "This is the first stage in the Government's drastic cuts in direct funding to universities, which we know will lead to an eventual 90 per cent loss of grant and the inevitable, consequent increase in tuition fees from September 2012.

"In anticipation of the uncertainties in the medium term after the new tuition fees regime is implemented, we are continuing to take active steps to contain our costs to ensure the university is in a sound position for the challenges ahead."