Student places, efficiency, and strategic subjects

To meet increasing demand for student places at universities and colleges, we are administering a new special initiative and are asking institutions to prioritise demand in strategically important and vulnerable subjects.

University Modernisation Fund

The University Modernisation Fund is a £152 million initiative designed to support a sustained increase in student places at universities and colleges in a period of economic recovery by adopting greater savings and efficiencies.

The fund has been used to:

  • contribute £132 million to support 10,000 extra student places in 2010-11, 8,000 full time and 2,000 part-time
  • provide £20 million to encourage universities and colleges to adopt efficiencies and savings through shared services and other innovative practices that will allow them to cover the cost of student places in subsequent years.

Allocation of new entrants through the University Modernisation Fund

[ Download Allocation of new entrants through the University Modernisation Fund as MS Excel 27K ]

Sector impact assessment: University Modernisation Fund

In developing the University Modernisation Fund, we have undertaken a formal assessment of the impact it will have on the HE sector in terms of regulatory burden, equality and diversity, and sustainable development.

[ Adobe PDF 70K | MS Word 66K ]

Strategically important and vulnerable subjects

The University Modernisation Fund builds on a separate initiative we are launching to shift the balance of institutions' provision towards vulnerable science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and modern languages subjects.

This was originally announced in our 2010-11 announcement of grant to universities and colleges following advice given in the 2009 report of HEFCE's advisory group on strategically important and vulnerable subjects (SIVS).

Following a bidding process for a share of almost £4 million to cover the costs of teaching more students in those subjects, 1,712 full-time equivalent places will be moved in 2010-11.

Movements into vulnerable STEM and modern languages

[ Download Movements into vulnerable STEM and modern languages as MS Excel 80K ]

Last updated 31 May 2011