Universities could be in trouble if they break new government rules. There is now a limit on the amount of students who can be admitted to their institutions and for every student admitted over this, there could now be a fine. The exact amount of the fine is currently undisclosed.
The number of new undergraduates increased by almost 6% this September, according to UCAS. However, nearly 140,000 potential students did not get places at a university, as a consequence of submitting late applications, not getting an offer or not meeting the requirements of their offer. It is possible that some of these people would have been well-qualified enough to gain a university place in any other year if the amount of applicants hadn’t soared.
However, there would have been thousands more students who wouldn’t have been able to start their degrees this year, if it were not for universities defying orders to restrict places. It had been decided that only another 13,000 people would be able to start this September after a £200 million black hole in university finances was discovered.
Philip Walker from the Higher Education Funding Council for England told LSJ News why these fines may be necessary.