Financial Position

Financial Position

The University of Lincoln, like universities across the UK, is responding to financial pressures facing our higher education sector.

This page explains more about these pressures, our University's financial status, and the steps we are taking to continue to thrive now and in the future.

Last updated: 1 May 2025

Our Financial Health

The University of Lincoln is not in financial deficit. We returned a small surplus in the last financial year and we expect to achieve financial breakeven this year (2024/25). We have ample liquidity to satisfy banks and regulators.

As a charity, any surplus we make is invested back into the University. To ensure we are well-placed to respond to financial pressures facing the UK higher education sector, we are taking practical steps to balance income and expenditure.

Our latest Financial Statements can be found on our Finance Department’s microsite. 

Source of Sector Financial Pressures

Home undergraduate tuition fees, which have not increased since 2017 and will remain frozen at £9,250 until the 2025/26 academic year, are now worth a third less in real terms compared to a decade ago. This is the lowest real terms rate of student funding since the 1990s.

On average, universities now lose money on teaching UK undergraduate students and undertaking government-funded research. In recent years, they have relied on other sources of income to offset these loss-making activities, the main source being enrolments of international students who usually pay higher tuition fees than domestic students.

The number of international students coming to the UK fell substantially in 2024 due to government changes in immigration policy. Meanwhile, universities' costs are going up, from energy bills to employer pension contributions.

Universities UK, the body which represents university leaders, warned 40% of universities expected to be in deficit in 2023/24, rising to 80% in the coming years. Analysis by the higher education sector's regulator, the Office for Students, forecast almost three quarters of universities could be in deficit in 2025/26.

For more on the financial pressures facing UK universities, see the Universities UK and PwC report, Financial Sustainability of the UK Higher Education Sector (January 2024).

Fit for the Future

The University of Lincoln is a university of, and for, the 21st century. The benefits we bring to our students and local communities are too important to let external pressures deter or distract us.

Our sense of purpose remains as important as ever: to transform lives and communities. We have been meeting the needs and aspirations of our region for decades. Our focus is to ensure that we are the right shape and size to be sustainable and successful now and as we move forward: to be fit for the future.

The vision and plan set out in our refreshed strategy can be found on our strategy page.

Our Priorities

The University is taking prudent, practical steps to balance our income and expenditure so we can deliver our strategic priorities for the benefit of students and the communities we serve. These measures include reducing non-pay budgets, lowering management costs, and streamlining departmental structures, as well as growing other sources of income. 

The University set a balanced budget for 2024/25. In spring 2025, we launched a voluntary exit scheme and a consultation with staff on several departmental restructures which could result in potential redundancies. Information on what this means for staff can be found on the University's intranet. Where any changes affect students directly, we will keep the relevant student groups informed, and engage with the University's Students' Union.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the University financially secure?

We are fortunate to be in a stable financial position, having returned modest surpluses in recent years. This is not the norm: around 40% of universities forecast a deficit in 2023/24. Some universities have been in deficit for three consecutive years or more. As we look at the environment for higher education, it is difficult to see how, or when, the international student market will return to recent levels. The increase in the undergraduate fee cap announced by the new government in November 2024 has been largely offset by the pending increase in employers' National Insurance contributions. While we expect to achieve a financial breakeven position this year (2024/25), we must continue to carefully manage our costs and increase income from other sources so we can balance budgets, return surpluses and invest in the University.

Why is the financial position of universities so precarious?

Most universities’ main source of income – the Home undergraduate tuition fee – has been frozen by the UK government at £9,250 since 2017 and will not be increased until the 2025/26 academic year. High inflation in recent years means the fee is now worth about two thirds in real terms compared to a decade ago. A 3.1% increase in the fee cap in 2025/26, which the new government announced in November 2024, will not remedy almost a decade of real-terms cuts to per student funding. Increases to employers' National Insurance contributions will also add millions of pounds in extra costs to universities.

On average, universities lose money on most undergraduate teaching (although this varies at subject and institutional level). Until recently, universities have partially covered the cost of these loss-making activities with the higher fees paid by international students but changes to immigration policies have seen a sudden decline in the attractiveness of the UK as a study destination.  

Why aren’t universities demanding to be paid fairly for the cost of teaching?

Universities UK (UUK) and various other sector bodies have made the case to government that the UK higher education funding system is no longer sustainable. A report was released by PWC, commissioned by UUK, in January 2024 making it clear to government the challenges facing the sector, titled Financial sustainability of UK universities: PwC findings.

Prior to the UK General Election on 4 July 2024, the University published its first ever manifesto calling on Lincolnshire's parliamentary candidates to support higher education in our region and recognise the role of universities in creating opportunity, enhancing productivity, and stimulating economic growth.

Will students be affected by any changes?

The University has been reviewing how efficiently we deliver our teaching, including our portfolio, assessment methods and student-to-staff ratios.

Protecting the student experience is an absolute priority and where any changes could have a material impact on students, we will consult locally and engage with the Students' Union.

We are also looking at how we deliver our Professional Services, across central services and colleges, more efficiently so that we can continue to support and enhance the student experience.

Information and Support

For staff

More information for colleagues can be found on the Department of People, Performance and Culture microsite or the Strategy Hub intranet site.

For students

Support and contact information can be found on the Student Services microsite, or through the Students’ Union.