Universities across the United Kingdom are facing their most significant period of financial upheaval in decades, with tens of thousands of jobs at risk, courses being axed, and students and staff alike caught in the crossfire. According to the University and College Union (UCU), UK universities have announced more than 12,000 job cuts over the past year, with additional cost-saving measures equivalent to another 3,000 roles looming on the horizon. The sector, once considered a bastion of stability and global prestige, now finds itself at a crossroads, grappling with falling student numbers, rising costs, and a pay dispute that could soon spark nationwide strikes.
At the heart of the crisis is a 1.4% pay offer made to staff over the summer of 2025. The UCU, representing 65,000 members, has rejected the offer, describing it as a real-terms pay cut of 3% given the current inflationary climate. All five unions representing higher education workers have similarly rejected the deal, and the UCU is now balloting its members for potential UK-wide industrial action. The ballot is set to open the week commencing October 20, 2025, and covers 138 institutions, raising the prospect of coordinated strikes in the new year if no improved offer is forthcoming.
Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary, has not minced words about the scale of the problem. Speaking to the BBC’s Today Programme, she stated, “These job losses are not minor, and the Government must stop treating them as localised incidents. Overpaid vice-chancellors are carrying out brutal cuts and have caused an existential moment for the UK higher education sector; our members do not want to strike, but they have been left with no choice but to ballot to defend it.” Grady further emphasized, “Our members, not vice-chancellors, are the people who support students, create teaching materials, conduct world-leading research and keep universities running; we are the university.”
The impact of these cuts is being felt across the country. In Scotland, the University of Edinburgh faces a £140 million financial black hole, which the UCU predicts could lead to 1,800 job losses. In England, Lancaster University may cut around 400 full-time jobs to save £30 million, while Dundee University in Scotland is looking to reduce up to 300 full-time positions to address a £35 million deficit. The University of Nottingham saw staff vote to strike in August 2025 over more than 250 proposed job cuts. The Office for Students now estimates that four in ten English universities are in financial deficit, and more than two out of five institutions expect a deficit for the 2024/25 academic year.
The effects are not confined to faculty and staff. Students, too, are experiencing the fallout. Caspar Cubitt, a theology student at the University of Edinburgh, voiced his concerns: “There’s a lot of gossip which swirls around you. It’s when you write back to your mum and dad and they ask how uni is going, you say, ‘Well, my degree is in trouble.’” Caspar noted that while departmental support remains, access to study spaces and module choices has been affected, prompting him to question whether he would have chosen Edinburgh had he known how the university would handle a budget crisis.
Dr Zak Hughes, a chemistry lecturer at the University of Bradford, is among those at immediate risk of redundancy. “There are a lot of stressed and upset people who are struggling to deal with it, both within the school but also more widely within the institution,” he said. With the chemistry course being phased out—part of a broader trend of course closures nationwide—Dr. Hughes faces the prospect of moving back home to live with his mother in his forties if he loses his job. “They’re probably looking not only at the end of a job, but really the end of their career in academia,” he reflected, highlighting the bleak future many academics now confront.
The financial strain is compounded by a sharp decline in international student enrolments, a key revenue source for many UK universities. Raj Jethwa, Chief Executive of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), underscored the gravity of the situation: “The struggling HE sector is suffering from unprecedented financial factors which are well-documented, including rises in costs, falling international student recruitment, and the significant increases in employer TPS pension costs. The recent small tuition fees increase for English HE institutions is already more than cancelled out by the National Insurance rise for employers.”
Jethwa defended the 1.4% pay offer, stating, “The 2025-26 pay uplift clearly does not reflect the true value employers place on staff but, given the severity of the financial pressures they face, this pay offer was the only prudent option open to employers, to try to protect students and staff.” He warned that industrial action would only exacerbate the situation: “It is much better for employers and unions to work together to highlight the value of higher education to the UK economy. But that can’t and won’t happen if UCU pursues industrial action causing disruption and suffering for students.”
Not everyone agrees with the unions’ approach. John O’Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, criticized the strike threats: “University strikes punish students, not vice-chancellors, and leave taxpayers footing the bill for missed lectures and disrupted courses. UCU must stop threatening action and work with management. Students and taxpayers deserve better than this self-serving disruption.”
University management, meanwhile, insists that difficult decisions are being made in an “open and fair way.” A spokesperson for the University of Bradford emphasized their commitment to students: “Like many other universities, we are having to make cost-savings to protect the student experience and ensure we deliver meaningful outcomes for graduates.” The university has expanded support services, but acknowledged the necessity of regularly reviewing courses with persistently low intake, such as chemistry.
The government, for its part, has pointed to a recent increase in tuition fees as a move to boost university income and has promised further reforms. The Department for Education is expected to publish a White Paper on higher education reform later in 2025, with the sector awaiting details on how the government plans to address the mounting challenges.
As the ballot for strike action looms, the future of UK higher education hangs in the balance. Staff, students, and administrators alike are left wondering whether the sector can weather this storm—or if the current crisis marks the beginning of a more fundamental transformation for Britain’s universities.
