NEARLY three-quarters of the University of Bradford’s income came from tuition fees last year, meaning it could be hard hit by a predicted drop in student numbers due to coronavirus.

The University and College Union has criticised a package of government support for the sector, after it warned of a £2.5 billion funding “black hole” caused by a collapse in student intake due to Covid-19.

Higher Education Statistics Agency data shows 72% of the University of Bradford’s revenue was from tuition fees in 2018-19 – equal to £78.6 million.

This was much higher than the average of 49% across all institutions.

A report for UCU, conducted by London Economics, warns an estimated 62,000 jobs are at risk at universities and throughout the wider economy, with a potential cost to the country of more than £6 billion.

The Government has pledged to bring forward £2.6 billion in tuition fees that universities would have received later in the year, and £100m of research funding.

But providers will face a cap on the number of full-time undergraduate UK and EU students they can recruit for 2020-21 – set at an extra 5% on top of the number they had already forecast they would admit – to prevent a race to the bottom among institutions looking to boost funding by swelling their ranks.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said the sector needs “more than IOUs to solve the problems they face”.

She added: “The student number cap is a misnomer as it will enable the wealthiest universities to substantially grow their domestic student base at the expense of other more locally-focused institutions.

“We cannot afford to let this dog-eat-dog approach risk substantial damage both to our country’s academic capacity and local economies which universities are such an important part of.

“Instead of kicking the can down the road, the Government must underwrite funding lost from a fall in domestic and international student numbers and remove incentives for universities to compete against each other at a time when we need to be pulling together.”

The report predicts around 60% of the £2.5 billion loss for the 2020-21 academic year will come from a drop in numbers of international students, who can pay up to three times the £9,250 annual fees charged to those from the UK.

However, only 21% of the University of Bradford’s tuition fee income came from non-EU students in 2018-19, according to the HESA figures – below the average of 29% across all institutions.

A spokesperson for the University of Bradford said it had moved swiftly and effectively to respond to the impacts of Covid-19 making sure all students are supported to progress through their studies, while planning ahead for the new intake of students, and the return of existing students, for the upcoming academic year.

They added: "The University welcomes the announcement of a support package by the UK Government for the higher education sector and we are reviewing the substance of the package as part of our detailed scenario planning on the impacts of Covid-19 on the University. We will be working with Universities UK to ensure the diversity of the sector’s needs are recognised and supported."

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shirley Congdon, said: “The current Covid-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented global challenge. The University has identified three priority areas that will support the response to and recovery from the emergency:

• To prioritise the health and well-being of our staff and students

• To support the NHS and Social Care

• To deploy our researchers to support the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Group (C-SAG) led by Bradford Institute for Health Research and the Wolfson Centre for Applied Health Research.

“The University of Bradford’s role in supporting social mobility and economic recovery and growth in Bradford and the North has never been more important. Our strengths in Health and Social Care, Science, Engineering and Social Sciences will bring significant advantage to our region. We look forward to supporting our next intake of students to realise their potential and enter into high quality graduate jobs.”

Universities UK president Julia Buckingham said the Government’s measures indicated a “welcome recognition” of the central role universities will play in the recovery of the economy and communities.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “We are committed to supporting our world-class universities and students through this unprecedented challenging time.

"So we are putting measures in place to help protect students and staff from the impact of coronavirus."