Additional OfS funding for high cost subjects

The announcement follows the receipt of guidance to the OfS (@officestudents) from universities minister Michelle Donelan (@michelledonelan).

The funding, allocated through the Strategic Priorities Grant, will seek to support an increase in undergraduate students studying subjects that are more expensive to deliver. These include medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences, nursing and other healthcare courses, as well as laboratory-based subjects. Funding will be made available to those higher education providers taking on additional students studying high cost subjects, and will be allocated by formula on a similar basis to the additional £10 million provided last year. We expect to allocate the funding after providers submit student data later this year. 

Nolan Smith, director of resources and finance at the OfS, said:

‘This extra funding will help to support universities and colleges who are taking on additional undergraduate students on those subjects which are most expensive to teach. Many of these subjects are crucial to our society and the economy as the country emerges from the pandemic.’

The government has also agreed that for this academic year only, providers that can accommodate an increase to medical and dentistry places for domestic students that have met the conditions of their offer and who hold a firm or insurance offer. Further information will be made available shortly for medical schools.