British universities face their most severe financial crisis in decades, with compulsory redundancies surging across the sector.
A Universities UK survey released on Monday found that 38 per cent of responding institutions are now making staff redundant.
This marks a dramatic increase from just 11 per cent in 2024. The sector regulator, the Office for Students, reported this month that 43 per cent of universities likely finished the 2025-26 academic year in deficit.
Institutions had been "over-optimistic" about boosting student recruitment. International student numbers dropped by 10 per cent in 2025-26.
This represents the second consecutive annual decline. Tighter visa regulations and economic difficulties in countries like Nigeria have reduced demand.
Nottingham University announced plans this month to eliminate approximately 600 positions. This amounts to roughly 8 per cent of its workforce.
The institution cited "significant financial challenges" as the reason. Sheffield University is also weighing substantial reductions.
The university is considering cutting about a fifth of its chemistry department. Industrial action is spreading in response to the cuts.
Staff at London South Bank University voted on Friday to strike over proposed job losses. Estimates suggest around 30,000 positions have been lost across the higher education sector over the past three years.
Nottingham University announced plans this month to eliminate approximately 600 positions
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Two-thirds of universities surveyed said they were exploring alliances or mergers with other institutions.Research and teaching are being scaled back significantly.
Some 31 per cent of universities reported cutting academic research, more than double the 14 per cent recorded in 2024.
These reductions include less funding for PhD students and early-career researchers. Academics are also receiving less time for their own projects.
Course offerings are shrinking at a similar pace. Some 44 per cent of institutions said they were eliminating programmes, up from 24 per cent the previous year.
Modern languages, English literature, history and chemistry have been particularly badly affected.
Some 44 per cent of institutions said they were eliminating programmes, up from 24 per cent the previous year.
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The voluntary redundancy rate stands at 79 per cent among surveyed universities. This was the first year the question was included in the annual survey.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said the findings "fit with what I see when I talk to universities. It's not like this is just a small number of struggling institutions, it's the story across the sector."
She noted that rising employer national insurance contributions combined with the sharp decline in overseas enrolments had triggered job losses at a scale unseen since the early 1990s.
The Department for Education said it had "already taken action to put universities on a firmer financial footing"
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Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, described the cuts as "a complete disaster, not just for students and our members, but for the UK's independent research capacity".
The Department for Education said it had "already taken action to put universities on a firmer financial footing".
It expects institutions to make appropriate decisions for long-term sustainability, including potential mergers.