Vice-chancellors have called on the Government to invest an extra £4.9 billion into higher education over the next three years.
In its submission to the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review, Universities UK says the additional money is needed to back fully funded growth in student numbers and to at least maintain current resources for teaching and research.
UUK president Drummond Bone told vice-chancellors at their spring meeting in Liverpool that top-up fees must remain additional to, not a substitute for, public investment in higher education.