This is what your tuition fees actually get spent on

Many universities are now revealing exactly where your tuition fees get spent – and it's far from just the cost of teaching you.

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With tuition now costing as much as £9,535 per year for many students, it's only natural to wonder what that money is spent on. And, surprise, surprise, it doesn't all go to teaching! Universities have many costs, including management, advertisement, university buildings, and more.

While it differs per university, we've taken a look at some of them to give you a general idea of where tuition fees actually get spent.

How do universities spend tuition fees?

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Data from HESA shows that historically, staff costs are the biggest expense for universities, on average taking up around half of UK universities' spending. However, this covers all staff, including administration, HR, finance, maintenance, etc.

When we take a closer look at the data, an average of around 23% of UK universities' expenditure is spent on academic teaching staff.

From the data we found available online, it's common for universities to spend between 25% and 50% of the funds generated from each student's annual tuition fees on the cost of teaching.

The remaining funds were spent on other necessary expenses. This includes things like buildings, technology and libraries, university administration, welfare support such as mental health services, and spending on the students' union.

How do universities differ in their tuition fee spending?

To take two examples, below we have included a breakdown of the average spending of tuition fees for the 2023/24 academic year from the University of Leicester and the University of Sussex. Though the category headings each university uses differ slightly, there are some obvious similarities:

University of Leicester tuition fee expenditure

• Academic and teaching – 42%
• Student support – 16%
• IT and library – 13%
• Running the university – 14%
• Running the campus – 12%
• Scholarships – 3%.

University of Sussex tuition fee expenditure

• Academic departments – 29%
• Operating and maintaining campus – 16%
• Central University running costs – 16%
• Library and IT – 15%
• Future investment – 9%
• Student wellbeing – 8%
• Widening access to university – 7%.

Both universities spend similar proportions of tuition fees on the running of the university (14% and 16%), which includes costs for finance, human resources and alumni relations.

Library and IT services, which include books, student e-mail accounts, WiFi and IT support, also take up similar percentages (13% and 15%) of both universities' spending.

The money put into the running and maintenance of the campus, which includes building maintenance, estate services and the cost of utilities, differs slightly between the two universities (12% and 16%). However, this could be down to specific building work that has had to be carried out during that academic year.

The biggest difference in expenditure between the two universities is the amount spent on academic departments and teaching. At the University of Leicester, 42% of your tuition fee goes towards the cost of academic staff, course equipment, and staff-related costs, whereas at the University of Sussex, only 29% is spent on academic departments.

The University of Leicester also allocates double the amount compared to the University of Sussex to student support (16% rather than 8%), including counselling and welfare services, the Student Union and careers services.

Are degrees good value?

Where previously it was difficult to find information on what universities spent your tuition fees on, it's great to see so many universities now being open about their expenditure.

However, it doesn't take away the growing concerns over the value of degrees in the UK compared to their cost.

MPs have previously said that many young people are being sold a "false dream" and the debt graduates leave higher education with outweighs the benefits they get from studying for a degree.

What's more, according to the Office for National Statistics, more than 26% of recent graduates in the UK were working in non-graduate roles in 2024.

However, the same statistics show that over 67.9% of graduates end up in high-skilled employment compared to only 23.7% of non-graduates. This suggests a university degree can still boost your employment prospects in the long run.

Why do universities charge for education?

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Data from the Office for Students shows that in the 2023/24 academic year, 40% of UK universities were in deficit (where there is not enough income to cover expenditure). That's four in every 10 universities. Even with the increase in tuition fees this year, this figure is set to rise.

UK universities have varying levels of dependency on the income from tuition fees. The difference can be huge.

For many universities, tuition fees make up around 50% of their income. For Oxford University, tuition fees only made up 18% of its income in the 2023/24 academic year. At the other end of the scale, at Nottingham Trent University, the figure stood at 83%.

This is why, for many of these institutions, there is overwhelming pressure to recruit new students every year.

Many universities are relying heavily on the fees they can charge international students. However, with this varying from year to year, this reliance could pose a risk, leaving universities in more financial difficulty.

Philippa Pickford, Director of Regulation at the OfS, said:

While institutions are working hard to navigate this challenging situation, we remain concerned that predictions of future growth are often based on ambitious student recruitment that cannot be achieved for every institution.

Our analysis shows that if the number of student entrants is lower than forecast in the coming years, the sector’s financial performance could continue to deteriorate, leaving more institutions facing significant financial challenges.

What will happen to university funding?

Today, the future of higher education funding in the UK is shrouded in uncertainty. Most people agree that something needs to be done, but we're not sure what that will be.

Other than continuing to raise tuition fees, proposals have been put forward to introduce a specific tax for graduates, bring in a graduate employer levy, or reform the student loan repayment system so that higher-earning graduates repay at a higher rate than lower earners.

And, of course, fees aren't the only problem. At Save the Student, we also believe that Maintenance Loans are a pressing concern.

For context, in our latest National Student Money Survey, the average student spent £1,142 per month. Yet, for English students in 2024/25, the average Maintenance Loan was equivalent to around £640 – highlighting the shortfall of loans.

We have long campaigned for increased Maintenance Loans and will continue to do so until they are big enough for students to live on.

Ever wondered how much each lecture really costs you? Use our calculator to find out how much your course costs per hour.